Second Chances
by zukuchiri
Summary: POSTPONED. Takes place several years after the first movie. Lines will be crossed, buttons will be pushed, and yes, there will be loads of drama. D/L-ish
1. I

**Obviously, I don't own The Fast and the Furious, the movie or any of the characters, though, I kind of wish I did. It'd be nice to have money. And those cars… Yeah, those cars were nice. However, there is something to take note of first. I absolutely ADORE the first movie. Yeah, sure I love the second and the third even more, but when it comes to writing fan fiction, I am only into pairing Letty & Dom. They're only in the first movie, not the second and not the third. So, if nobody is interested in reading this, please let me know, I will discontinue this story. I don't want to continue writing if I'm just taking up space or wasting my time for nobody's enjoyment or entertainment.**

**The whole idea for me to start writing again came from me reading an old fic I loved the first time I read it. I haven't published anything in about two years but going back and reading my old stories, they were crap. At least my first one was. I mean the chapters were short and not very descriptive. I'm working on it. So, read this, let me know what you think. If you like it, I will continue it, but not until I know at least SOMEBODY will actively read it.**

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Her friends stepped away from the curb as she stirred up the settling snow as she drove. The snow probably would've stirred up if she were going about 60 less miles were hour. Her friends watched in amazement that she hit her breaks and stopped immediately, despite the couple of inches of snow on the street. Living here, you don't just deal with the snow, you live with it, and you have fun in it. It never lasted very long.

They stepped out into the middle of the street and clapped at their friend and her car. They thought it was amazing and she adored the attention. She never got attention at home. She hit the gas again and pulled onto the curb and exited the car. Her friends were still clapping as she approached.

"Nice car," one of the girls noted nodding to it, "and it's yours?"

"Well… not really. It was my moms. I just kind of figured since she can't use it, why can't I?" She started, looking around the group of people, looking for a reason to why she couldn't. If they could even give her a reason. What better reason could she come up with as to why she deserved the car?

"Shouldn't you ask?" One of the guys asked. She eyed him then turned to look at the car. "And if you haven't, should you really be out here driving it? What if you wreck it? I mean, I'm sure your aunt would kill you." He'd just dampened her hopes and she frowned at him.

With a hard shove, the guy was in the snow and they entire group was laughing.

"God, you sound like your mother," another of the girls was starting, "so much it sounds as if you could be her. But you know, Jenn, he could be right. Maybe you should've checked with your aunt before taking it out." Jenn reached down to help up her friend. He looked at the girl who'd knocked him down as he dusted off the snow. "Oh, you baby."

"Why do you guys always have to be mean to me?" He turned and started down the street, upset.

"Oh come on James!" The girl who'd knocked him down called after him but he kept going. She turned to her friend, "Jenn, I should go after him. He hates when I let him leave without me." With a nod, she took off running after him.

"Party pooper!" Jenn yelled after her and turned back to the rest of her friends, which were only two other people. "What about you two, you want to do something?"

"No, it's getting late, I have to get home." Steve insisted backing away, looking at his girlfriend Cara. She smiled nicely to Jenn and nodded. "My moms making spaghetti. I want to get home so I don't have to be last and get the burned garlic bread. Sorry, Jenn. My mom said you could come eat with us tonight Cara." Cara nodded and started walking toward him.

"You guys want a ride?"

"No, thanks, but no thanks." Steve insisted before Cara could open her mouth. "We'll walk. I don't live that far." Jenn nodded and sighed softly when they were out of earshot. She turned back to her mother's car and looked at it.

"I can drive." She told herself. "What do they know?" She dug in her pockets for her smokes and a lighter, taking out one and lighting it. She inhaled and coughed. She hated smoking, but right now it was all she had, her friends had just ditched her and she was stuck here alone with a car. She looked up at the sky and got hit in the forehead with a big snowflake. She groaned and dropped the cigarette to wipe her forehead.

"Excuse me?" Came a voice from the front of her car. Jenn turned and looked at the little old lady who was standing with her hands on the hood of the car. "Is this your car?"

"Yes." Jenn said with a hint of hopefulness that the little old lady would ask her to show it off.

"Would you mind moving it so I can get my car out of my driveway, I have to go to the store." Jenn sighed quietly and nodded, starting for the driver's side door. She got in and started it, watching the old lady as she did. She hit the gas and it lurched forward, nearly hitting the little old lady.

"Sorry," Jenn had rolled down her window and the little old lady was giving her a stern face. Without another thought she hit the gas and figured it was best to just get out of there. She turned quickly at the corner and ignored the fact that her tires slipped as she turned. She just wanted to get out of there.

She reached for her phone as she felt it vibrate in her coat pocket. She flipped it open and held it to her ear. "Yeah?" She questioned almost rudely, already knowing whom it was. "What do you want?"

"My mom wants to know when you'll be home and if you'll be eating with us." The girl spoke so politely it always offended Jenn.

"I don't know when I'll be home and I can grab some fast food on my way home." Jenn snapped. She hated when she called for stupid reasons.

"My mom said be back before 10. And you're in so much trouble because she knows you have your mom's car. _You're in so much trouble_." The niceness was gone from her voice with the last comment she made. "And when you're grounded, _I_get to drive your mom's car."

"You better not **fucking** touch my moms car!" Jenn snapped and flipped her phone closed. She swallowed and she knew that her cousin had gotten the best of her but she didn't care. Where did she get off talking like that anyway? It was her mom's car, not Jenn's, not her aunt's or her cousins; it was her mom's. She suddenly felt guilty for driving it.

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She sighed quietly and got out of the car, closing the door quietly behind her. She walked toward the building, putting her hands in her pockets and smiling at the doorman who opened the door for her. She thanked him quietly and shivered into her coat. She stepped up to the elevator and sighed when she realized she'd have to wait for it.

"It'll only be a minute, miss." The man at the elevator insisted.

"It's okay, I'm only going up to the third floor. I'll take the stairs. The exercise will do me good." He nodded and she slipped down the hall to where the stairs could be found.

She started up the stairs slowly and as she rounded the curve on the third floor she took a deep breath before opening the door. A man in a white coat approached her with a smile.

"Good evening, Jenn, we weren't expecting you tonight. But somehow she knew you would be here today. It's amazing how she's always right. Go on in, she's waiting for you. Page us if you need any help." She nodded and made her way down the hall and watched the numbers on the door increase. She stopped at the room number 324 and took a deep breath and pushed the door open slowly.

"Jennifer." The woman in the bed said in an exasperated tone. Jenn nodded and smiled at her. The woman opened her arms and Jenn moved toward her with a smile. Jenn wrapped her arms around the neck of the woman and allowed her to hug her back. It was the only person Jenn let hug her. When other people tried, she politely told them she just didn't like hugs that much.

"How are you?" Jenn asked, interested. The woman nodded and smiled.

"I'm good. The doctor came in today and did a check up. He keeps telling me about this surgery and how it would make me better and stuff." Jenn nodded and looked into the eyes of the woman. "I want to do it, but I'm scared to." Jenn nodded again, still looking in her eyes. Once she started looking into her eyes, it was hard for her to tear away.

It was her own way of punishing herself. This was her fault, so she had to face it, first hand.

"You know, if you ever want to get it done, I'll come and be here with you." Jenn bit her lip when the woman shook her head. "Still scared, huh?" She nodded and swallowed.

Those big brown eyes were what killed Jenn the most. She remembered when they were so full of life. Now… Now, they were just about as empty as a newborn's. She swallowed at the memory and looked down at her hands. She moved into the bed beside the woman and smiled at her.

"They said the chances of something good coming out of it were greater than something bad." Jenn swallowed and watched the woman. "You want to get better, don't you?"

"I miss Jennifer." The woman stated quietly, out of nowhere.

"You miss me?" Jenn asked, confused.

"No, I miss my Jennifer."

"But I'm right here."

"But, now you're not Jennifer." Jenn swallowed and watched her.

They both turned they're attention to the door when a man in a white coat came in, holding a little cup with pills in it and another cup with water in it. Jenn knew she should get up and leave, but her feet weren't working.

"Hello." The man started with a smile. She smiled back and nodded at him. "Bed time, Hun." He stated toward the woman, holding up the two cups. She held open her hands and took the cups from him. She poured the pills into her mouth then swallowed the water and smiled at him, sticking out her tongue to show she'd swallowed all the pills. "You should get home soon." Jenn nodded and stood slowly.

"Stay with me till I fall asleep?" The woman asked. Jenn looked up at the man and he nodded with a smile. Jenn nodded and sat back down beside the woman, adjusting the pillow for her. The man left the room leaving Jenn alone with the woman again.

"I miss my Jennifer." The woman stated quietly. Jenn knew it wouldn't be long before the pills would take work and she'd be falling asleep. "Have you met my Jennifer? She's the sweetest girl I know. She comes and sees me sometimes. It makes me happy." Her eyelids were getting heavy. Jenn felt her eyes sting and wiped at them furiously, not letting herself cry. She hadn't cried in years.

"Tell me about Jennifer."

"She's gorgeous. She has these big brown eyes she got from her father. Her father…" her voice drifted off, Jenn could tell it was out of sleep. "She has long brown hair and she's so nice. She wouldn't hurt anybody. She wouldn't hurt anybody." She repeated, letting sleep consume her.

Jenn leaned down and kissed the woman's forehead and smiled sadly, rubbing her eyes again. She scooted off the bed and kissed her forehead again, before turning to leave the room quietly. That had been the best visit she'd had in weeks. Lately she'd just been staring at her, as if she were a stranger, somebody she didn't know. Jenn liked the fact that she, at least if only for a couple minutes, she recognized her.

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Jenn pushed the car door shut and sighed when she saw the kitchen light was on. She put her key in the lock and turned it, pushing the door open. She closed the door and locked it behind her; she kicked off her shoes and set them between her younger cousin's shoes and her aunt's. She glanced at the picture of her mother on the wall and smiled at it, nodding gently. She moved into the kitchen and stepped back quickly when the heat stung her cheek.

"Where the hell have you been?" She demanded. Jenn didn't want to answer, so she decided to lie.

"I was at the library with Steve and Cara. History midterm." Her aunt glared at her and Jenn let her eyes drift downward, which was a sure sign she was lying.

"You reek of cigarettes, go take a shower and wash your clothes." Her aunt backed away from her and looked at her. "You're grounded for three weeks. No computer, no phone, no going out after school."

"What?" Jenn questioned. "I'm home before 10, why the fuck am I grounded?"

"One, you just swore at me. Two, you took your moms car without permission." Her aunt picked up the paper and glanced over it, trying her best to ignore Jenn as much as she could. "You're grounded for three week."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time." Jenn turned away and started for the stairs slowly. "Fucking bitch." She muttered quietly. Her aunt stood quickly. She didn't care what happened, nobody would call her names. She wouldn't let Jenn get away with it.

"Excuse me?" Her aunt asked, anger present in her voice.

"Obviously you heard me," Jenn started swinging back around to face her aunt, "because you wouldn't have said anything if not." Jenn stared at her blank face for a couple of seconds, walking around the front of the table where her aunt was standing. "I called you a fucking bitch." Her aunt reached across the table and smacked her, hard. Sure enough that would bruise and Jenn could tell more of her war stories of her horrible aunt and her cousin.

Jenn picked up the bottom of the table and flipped it in the air, sending dishes and a flower arrangement flying through the kitchen. Her aunt backed into the counter, watching her wide-eyed, her hand over her mouth.

This was the Jenn her aunt was afraid of. It was the Jenn everybody was afraid of. She inherited the anger issues from her mother, who was medicated for it, Jenn wasn't. There was a big difference in that alone. If Jenn were seeking help for her anger, things would be different now than they were.

Jenn turned away from her aunt and headed up the stairs as fast as she could. Once she was behind her door, she threw things at her wall and kicked her door, letting out her aggression. It was either this or beating her aunt because of the bitch she really was. She pounded on the door and took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions in. She couldn't.

She slipped to the floor and let the tears slip freely down her cheeks. Today had been a shitty day. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on her knees. She cried loudly, she didn't care who heard her they would never bring it up in a conversation. The one time her cousin had, she ended up with a black eye and a promise to Jenn that would never bring it up again.

She looked up at her nightstand and smiled softly at the picture of her mom. Her mom was the only thing she knew of that could calm her down. She's lost her mom and now all she had were pictures. She studied the picture. It was the oldest picture Jenn had ever seen of her mom and she was smiling, which Jenn liked. She was standing with a group of guys and one other woman that Jenn had never met. Her mom told her that they knew each other when they were younger and she admitted to those being the best and the worst years of her life.

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"_Mommy, who're these people?" A young Jenn asked curiously, eyeing the picture that she'd found in a box they were digging through. "Is that you?" Jenn giggled and her mom leaned over to look at the picture, causing her to laugh as well. "You're wearing a skirt."_

"_What's wrong with that?"_

"_Skirts are icky." She'd tried to get her daughter to wear skirts and dresses. Hell, she couldn't even get her to wear pink or purple. Not since she could tell the difference between purple and blue. She'd fight and fight her mother until she tried to put on a better color._

"_Yeah, they are, huh?" Jenn nodded and laughed._

"_Who are these people?" Her mom swallowed and gently took the picture from her._

"_This is me, obviously, right?" Jenn nodded and smiled at her. "These are the people I used to be friends with. We were a family."_

"_Mommy, are you crying?" She shook her head and wiped her eyes quickly._

"_I'm mommy. Mommy doesn't cry." Jenn giggled again and her mom smiled and looked back at the picture. "This is your aunt," she said pointing at the brunette with a cheeky grin, "this is her brother," she tapped the picture a couple times and swallowed. "Her brother." Jenn observed the hurt look on her mother's face. "That's your father baby, you've got his eyes." Jenn studied the picture and looked up at her mom. She was instantly confused._

"_You said my daddy was in a better place," she started, "where is he?"_

"_Better place? Baby, I think your old enough for the truth." She nodded and Jenn looked at her mom. "We didn't love each other anymore. We thought it would be best for you if you and I just moved away. That's why we're here. But your dad, he loves you, very much. Maybe when you're older we can go see him." Jenn looked at her mom with wide-eyes. "He's a good guy."_

"_Who are these guys?"_

"_They were the guys. The guys."_

"_Can we go meet them now?" Jenn asked hopefully._

"_Jennifer, baby, it's almost bedtime. I told you, when you're older we can go see them." Jenn nodded sadly. Her mom took notice and wrapped her arms around her. "I love you, baby."_

"_I love you too mommy." Jenn whispered sleepily. "I really am tired now." Her mom nodded and smiled, kissing her forehead._

"_Come on, let's get you to bed, huh?" Jenn nodded and got under the covers happily, ready for her mom to tell her a bedtime story, which she always did. _

_Jenn remembered, though, that night, her mom didn't have that same happy spark in her eyes. It was almost as if something had died on the inside._

"_Where are they, anyway?" Jenn asked her mom as she started to slip out of the room. Her mom stopped and looked at her with a small smile._

"_Los Angeles."_

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Jenn yawned and looked around, sitting. She'd finally crashed on the floor with the picture of her mom in her hand. She smiled at it and looked at it. She traced her finger over her mom's face and smiled softly then looked up when there was a knock on the door.

Jenn got up and opened the door hastily, staring down into a pair of green eyes.

"Hey, Dani." Jenn moved to the side and let her cousin pass through the door. She closed the door behind her. Jenn noticed the picture of her mom was still in her hand so she set it down on her nightstand. "What's up?"

"My mom and sisters are going shopping. They wanted to know if you'd watch me for a couple hours."

"Sure." Jenn nodded.

"Good, because they left and I was getting scared." Jenn nodded and looked at her little cousin.

"I'm grounded, so why not?" Dani smiled and Jenn chuckled. "Did you eat?"

"No, my mom made toast, but she burnt it." Jenn nodded and held out her hand for her little cousin.

"Come on, I'll make you something to eat." Dani smiled and took her cousins hand. Jenn led her into the kitchen and sat her down. Jenn picked up a big plastic spoon and held it up to her mouth like a microphone. "While the biotches are gone, the girls will play. Oh yeah. So, Miss Dani, what would you love your favorite cousin in the whole world to make you for breakfast?" Jenn held the spoon out and Dani giggled.

"Blueberry waffles," she giggled, "with whipped cream."

"With whipped cream, huh?" Jenn asked into the spoon. Dani nodded and smiled. "Good, I like to see that somebody isn't on a diet, like their evil sisters and mother." Jenn moved the spoon from her face. "I doubt we have whipped cream though, but I'll see what I can do, babe." Dani smiled and nodded.

Jenn always made her waffles from scratch and that's what Dani loved about them.

"Now, this is the important part. Do you want the blueberries in the waffle or on the waffle?" Jenn asked holding the spoon back up to her mouth. "While she thinks, I shall get them out of the fridge." Jenn made a ticking noise with her mouth as she did. Dani laughed a little harder and Jenn smiled.

"Both." Dani decided.

"Good decision." Jenn said adding blueberries to the batter and stirring it again. She poured a little into the waffle iron and turned to her cousin. "What will she do while she waits?"

"Dance!" Dani got up from the chair and started dancing around the table that Jenn just realized was on the floor last night. Jenn smiled at her cousin and laughed when she started shaking her butt.

"What's with all that racket down here?" Dani moved toward Jenn and she chuckled.

"Sorry, Jack, I didn't know you were home. I thought you'd gone to work." He shook his head and Jenn nodded a little, dropping the spoon in the sink and turning to the waffle iron and opening it. She flipped out the waffles and set them on a plate and walked over to where her cousin was now sitting.

"That smells good. Thanks." The guy said taking the plate from Jenn, causing Dani to frown. He reached for the fork in Jenn's other hand and she let him have it. Jenn felt her anger rising and looked over at Dani, who was shaking her head.

"It's okay, Jenn, I'll have a pop tart." Jenn swallowed and pushed away from the counter. The only thing that was keeping her from losing her temper was the fact that her younger cousin was sitting in the room.

"What kind do you want and I'll make it for you." Jenn asked.

"Sheesh Jenn, let her make it for herself. Why do you baby her?"

"Who said I was babying her? I just offered to make her a pop tart."

"Let her make it on her own." Jenn unplugged the waffle iron and started wiping up the mess she made. She wanted to throw the waffle iron at his head but resisted because she knew if she did, she'd be in a world of trouble and a world of pain if he caught up with her after something like that. She pulled out two boxes of pop tarts; each had one pack left in each. She held them up for Dani to see and she pointed to the blueberry, which left the strawberry for Jenn.

Jenn loved strawberry, so that was no problem with her. Plus, she would get the satisfaction of eating her cousin's last pop tart. She opened the wrappers and put them in the toaster at the lowest setting. She cracked her neck as she waited for them to pop up. She walked to the cabinet and pulled out two little plates and set them by the toaster, still waiting.

Facing the counter and the toaster, she didn't see the guy get up; she couldn't have prepared herself for his blow. She took it square in the back, pushing her roughly and awkwardly into the counter. He wrapped his fingers in her short hair and pushed his knee into her back, pulling her head back.

"Jenn!" Dani shouted, getting out of her chair. The toaster popped and she leaned forward as much as she could to get Dani's breakfast out. She set it on the plate and handed it out to Dani but she couldn't look at her. "Jenn."

"Dani!" Jenn shouted, causing Dani to jump. Even though Jenn couldn't tell, she knew she'd made her jump. "Go upstairs. I'll be up there in a minute."

"But…"

"Go." Jenn insisted. Jenn nodded a little when she heard little footsteps on the stairs and a door close. Her focus turned back to the man who was holding her still.

"I told you to let her make her own damn food. But you always refuse to listen to me, don't you." He hit her on the head and she whimpered, ignoring the pain it brought to her head. He let her go and she turned, leaning against the counter, glaring at him. She decided it would be best if she kept her mouth closed. He could easily take her out and everybody would point the finger at her and her anger problems.

She winced as he smacked her, hard. She decided it would be best for both of them to just take it.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Jenn pushed the door open and looked at her little cousin who was sitting on her bed, waiting patiently for her cousin. Dani frowned when she saw her cousin though.

"What happened?" Dani questioned. Jenn didn't want to talk about it. Dani was too young to understand. Jenn didn't even understand and she was ten years older than Dani. Jenn sat down beside Dani on her bed with a sigh. "Jenn?" Dani whispered.

"Yeah?" Jenn asked. Dani reached over and put a hand on Jenn's.

"He does it to me too."

"_What?_" Jenn asked loudly, standing up. Dani gave her a fearful look and Jenn let her shoulders slump. She felt her heart drop and her anger boil. "Don't tell me that, Dani, don't. I don't need to know that. Why did you tell me that?"

"You're my cousin. I love you and you love me. If I had to tell anybody, I'd tell you. I trust you. I love you, Jenn." Dani moved closer to Jenn and Jenn pulled away quickly. Jenn jumped up and walked to her closet, pulling out a bag, stuffing her clothes in it. "Jenn?" Dani jumped off the bed and grabbed Jenn's wrist. Jenn pulled it away from her roughly and Dani stepped back, hurt.

Jenn was kneeling down in front of her before the first tear left her eye, which was followed closely by more. Jenn wrapped her arms around Dani and squeezed her.

"I trusted you!" Dani shouted, shoving Jenn away from her, which knocked Jenn back on her butt. It hurt Jenn to see her little cousin cry, and for the fact that she was crying over her, it killed her. "Stay away from me! _I hate you!_" Dani ripped out of the room, leaving Jenn there alone in her own world. She looked back at the bag on her bed and sighed softly.

She had to leave. It was the only way. Leaving her cousin would be something she'd _have_ to do. Dani would understand that with time, when she got older. Jenn only hoped she were right.

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It had been long since she'd thrown her bags in her mother's car and taken off, leaving her little cousin Dani behind. She regretted it the instant she'd done it but she knew in the long run, this would be for the best. Taking Dani would her would've resulted in her aunt sending out a search party for her youngest daughter saying she'd been kidnapped. Jenn would be taken to jail and her aunt would be happy that Jenn was out of her life for good.

"Jennifer!" Jenn opened her eyes and looked around. She'd been standing outside of room 324 for the last fifteen minutes planning out the conversation that was going to take place. She looked straight ahead just in time to brace herself for the woman to wrap her arms around her neck. "It's my Jennifer."

"Hey, can we talk?" The woman nodded.

"I have to pee." Jenn nodded and chuckled to herself. "Wait for me in there. That's my room." Jenn nodded and passed the woman and sat on the chair in the corner. She waited patiently, but the longer she took in the bathroom, the more nervous she was getting. "I'm back." The woman went over and sat on the bed, looking at Jenn. "You're so pretty, but you cut your hair."

"Yeah, but doesn't it look good?" She questioned, running her fingers through it. The woman nodded a little and watched it. "I need to talk to you."

"Why did you cut your hair?"

"Time for a change." The woman nodded. Talking to this woman was nearly impossible; it was like talking to a kid maybe younger than Dani. It was irritating her.

"I need to talk to you too." The woman suddenly said with a smile. Jenn looked at her and smiled a little. She had to be nice. She'd feel guilty if she'd made another person cry today and it wasn't even noon. "I'm getting that surgery." Jenn sat up on the edge of the chair.

"What?" Jenn whispered.

"Yeah, this girl was here last night, she talked me into it. I want to get better. I want to get it done." Jenn knew that girl was her, but she wasn't about to correct her.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that." Jenn nodded. She really was. She'd finally have that woman back and she wouldn't have to deal with her aunt every again. Then Jenn remembered why she was here. She'd left her aunts house: she was leaving. "When?"

"They're taking me next month." Jenn nodded. Maybe she could leave and be back by then. "Will you be there? I want you to meet the girl who comes and sees me every day. She'll be here later tonight if you want to stay for dinner." Jenn hung her head.

"Hey…" The woman looked up at her. "I'm leaving."

"Oh, well, maybe tomorrow."

"No, I'm leaving town."

"Oh." She whispered. Jenn frowned and looked at her. Don't make her cry, Jenn.

"I'll be back, and I'll be here for your surgery." The woman smiled.

"Promise?"

"I promise." Jenn nodded and the woman stood up, which caught Jenn off guard. She opened her arms and wrapped them around Jenn's waist, pulling her close. "I promise I'll be back for you."

"You're my Jennifer and I love you." She stated.

"You're my mom, and I love you." Jenn whispered. "I miss you. I'll miss you." Jenn kissed her cheek and squeezed her. "I have to go. I'll bring you back something nice, okay?"

"Okay. I miss you." Jenn nodded and allowed herself to slip away quietly.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"May I help who's next, please?" The lady behind the counter smiled at Jenn as Jenn approached. "Hello, how can I help you?"

"I need to know if you have any available tickets for a flight." Jenn stopped short on purpose.

"Okay, I just need to know where you'd like to go and when you would like to leave."

"Los Angeles. As soon as possible."

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**I love it. I like my start. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with it. I think it makes the story line pretty apparent as well, which I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I'm the kind of person who loves throwing in twists and drama. I'm a major drama whore. It comes from reading fanfiction, I swear, man.**


	2. II

**Thank you much for the people who reviewed. The reviews really do mean a lot to me. They help me get in the mood to write and they make me want to write. Therefore, if I don't get any reviews, I'm not going to want to write anything. And that's how I end up not finishing stories. But you should definitely review this one because I am posting it on my birthday. It would really make me feel good.**

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"Leticia?" The man questioned from the door, eyeing the woman in the chair in the corner. She looked over at him and she couldn't shake the frown off her face. "It's time for your afternoon activity. Come on." She didn't move - she was too busy staring out the window. "Come on." He kept his voice calm and relaxed, knowing she'd freak out if not. "Don't you want to go downstairs?"

"No." She answered simply. The man approached her, slowly, pulling up a chair beside her.

"Why not?" He questioned, putting a hand on her knee, trying to comfort her, seeing she'd been crying. "You always have fun when you do. Remember?"

"No. I don't want to." She said even more simply, turning to watch the rain outside the window.

"What's wrong?"

"She didn't come see me this week."

"Who? Your daughter?" She thought it over in her head before responding.

"I don't have a daughter." She stood up and shook her head sadly starting toward the door.

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_She opened the door when the knock came. She let the officers inside the house and stood there, waiting. Her hands were covered in blood and she kept them balled at her sides. She stood sideways, preparing herself to run if she needed to. She wasn't sure what happened or what was going to happen._

"_Oh my…" One of the officers gasped and turned away from the door, looking at the girl, who couldn't have been more than fourteen. He started toward her and knelt down in front of her. "What's your name, sweetie?"_

"_Jennifer," she whispered quietly, "Jennifer."_

"_Jennifer, my names Officer Velasquez. Can you tell me what happened in there?" She shook her head and the officer nodded. He stood back up and started back for the room where his partner was still standing. "We're going to need a stretcher in here." Jennifer eyed the strangers in her house and backed toward the door._

_Before she knew it, she was running out of the house and down the street._

"_Hey!" She heard somebody shout after her. She didn't turn to see who it had been, knowing it was a police officer. "Somebody catch that kid!" She ran faster when she heard running footsteps behind her. She only got about two blocks away before the person who was chasing her knocked her to the ground. The grass underneath her cushioned her fall, but it still hurt her chest, knocking the air out of her lungs._

"_Put your hands behind your back." This time it was a female officer. She complied and put her hands behind her back. She didn't like the way the cold metal felt on her bare wrists. The officer helped her to her feet and started to lead her back to her house. "Why'd you run?" She questioned curiously. It wasn't like Jenn knew the laws or the legal system. She'd never been in trouble with the law before._

_She was pushed up against the cruiser and the female officer patted her down._

"_No weapon." The officer stated, turning her around and opening the door to her cruiser, gently guiding her into the backseat. "Sit still, I'll be right back." She closed the door and joined the two men that were just inside the house. Jenn's eyes watched the stretcher that her mom's motionless body on it as they loaded it into the ambulance. She hung her head and before she could stop herself, the tears were free flowing._

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Jenn woke with a start and looked around. She was asleep in the passengers seat and she looked in the side mirror to see flashing lights. She sighed and moved over to the driver's seat. She jumped, even though she probably shouldn't have, when there was a knock on the window. She put the key in the ignition and turned it a little so she could put the window down.

"License and registration, please." His voice was stern, but in a way it was still polite. She leaned over to get into the glove box to get the registration papers. She pulled them out then looked around the car for her bag. She sighed when she realized she must have put it in the trunk when she was at the last rest stop, which is where she should have stopped to get some sleep. Nobody would've said anything to her if she'd stopped there.

"There's the registration. My license is in my bag in the trunk. There was some creepy guy following me around that last rest stop, so I threw it in my trunk." He took the registration and moved to the side so she could get out of the car. She got out, pulling up her pants and walking around to the trunk. The officer closed the door and Jenn looked up at him.

"Sorry," he looked at her. "Figured you didn't want it open." She nodded a little and popped the trunk, reaching for her bag and closing the lid. The officer walked around to the back of the car, looking at her. She set her bag on the trunk and rummaged around, looking for her wallet. Finding it, she pulled it out and struggled with getting the card out of the flap. Frustrated, she just handed him her wallet. She didn't keep her money in it anyway. She kept her money in her pocket. "I'll be right back."

She watched him get in the cruiser, leaving the door slightly open. She'd never been pulled over before. Well, technically this wasn't being pulled over. Did the guy even have the right to ask for her license since she wasn't driving? She shrugged it off and sighed.

Waling around to the side of the car, she tossed her bag on the passengers seat and leaned against the door. The air was warm and it felt nice on her arms. She took off the button up shirt and tossed it over the back of the passengers seat. She pushed her keys into the jean pocket and waited for the officer.

"Can I ask why you were pulled off to the side, ma'am?" He questioned walking back toward her, with her wallet and registration in hand.

"I was exhausted last night. I had to pull over and get some sleep. That's legal, isn't it?" She hadn't meant the last comment to come out as rude as it sounded. He eyed her and handed her back her information. "Thanks," she whispered taking it back.

"No, it's not, but it is very dangerous. You should've considered waiting until the next rest area or stayed back at the last one." Jenn shook her head and looked at him. Hadn't she just told him that somebody was following around the last rest stop she'd been at? Hadn't she just told him she was exhausted and couldn't drive anymore? She suddenly realized why she despised police officers. They were ignorant

"I'll keep that in mind next time I decide to pull over and sleep." She couldn't help the attitude. It wasn't something she could turn on and off.

"It says you have a couple priors, I could take you in right now if I wanted, you know?"

"You just said I wasn't doing anything illegal, Officer…" she glanced down at his name badge and swallowed, "Velasquez." She straightened and looked at him. "Velasquez?"

"What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Road trip."

"All the way from Ohio?"

"Obviously." Jenn could tell the officer was getting frustrated.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" She shook her head.

"I graduated early." The officer nodded and she chuckled to herself.

"Well, consider this a warning, okay? Don't pull over to the side of the road unless it's an absolute emergency. It can be deadly."

"Alright. Thank you, officer." Jenn opened the door and got in the car. She cracked her neck and pulled her keys out of her pocket. She stuck the key in the ignition and started the car. She wanted to wait for the cop to pull off first before she left. She glanced down at her cell phone, which was resting in her ashtray and on the charger that was plugged into the cigarette lighter. Staring at the cigarette lighter, it made her crave a cigarette.

She saw the car pass her and she exhaled softly, cracking her neck again. That was also something she'd picked up from her mom, cracking her neck when she was frustrated or nervous, or even trying to intimidate somebody.

"What are you doing Jenn?" She asked herself pulling away from the side of the road and driving along with the traffic. "Cool it."

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"Marlboro lights, please." Jenn asked, putting her bottle of water on the counter. Her wallet was in her hand and the lady behind the counter was watching her.

"Can I see some ID please?" Jenn nodded and slid her wallet over the counter. The lady examined it and slid it back. She turned and searched for the cigarettes she'd just asked for. She pulled them out, rang them up then reached for the water. Jenn took out a twenty and offered it to the lady. "Need a lighter?" Jenn looked at the lighters and picked out a red one and slid it across the counter toward the lady without saying a word.

"Thank you." Jenn whispered as she got back her change and stuffed it in her back pocket. She reached for her bottle of water and cigarettes, stashing the lighter in her pocket. She smiled at the lady again and disappeared back out to her car.

Her stomach growled as she lit a cigarette and inhaling on it quickly. Her lungs weren't prepared for it and she'd coughed loudly. She reached for her water, unscrewed the lid and took a drink. She wasn't a smoker but sometimes it just helped her relax.

Jenn pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the street in the direction she'd just come from. Her stomach growled again and she whimpered. She put her window down and moved the cigarette to her left hand so the smoke went out the window.

Jenn hit her breaks slightly as a blue car sped by her and turned sharply into a close parking lot. She watched as a girl got out and went inside, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she did. Maybe that girl could help her find what she was looking for. Jenn pulled into the parking lot and looked at the building. It was a diner, which her stomach thanked her for.

She flicked the cigarette away and got out of her car, adjusting her pants, which always seemed two sizes too large. She leaned back in and grabbed her bag, putting both her cigarettes and wallet in it. Jenn shut the door and started toward the door. The girl who'd just walked in looked up at her from behind the counter.

"Are you open?" Jenn asked. She was trying to be nice. One reason being that she was on the other side of the country to anybody who could help her out if she ended up in a sticky situation. The girl nodded then went back to her magazine. Jenn walked in and looked up at the sign above the other girl's head. She really just wanted a cheeseburger. "Can I get a cheeseburger then?" The girl nodded again. She got up and walked into the back room.

"Yo, girl wants a burger." There was a grumble then a chair scratching across the floor. The girl reappeared and smiled at Jenn for the first time since she'd walked in. Jenn now felt comfortable enough to sit down at the counter. "You want something to drink?"

"Pepsi?" She questioned. The girl nodded and dipped a thick plastic cup in a cooler of ice and grabbed a can of Pepsi, setting both on the counter in front of Jenn. "Thank you."

"Uh huh." She said plainly. Jenn noticed she'd turned back to her magazine, which must have been pretty interesting.

"I like your car." The girl looked up at her and raised and eyebrow. "It's nice."

"It's my mom's. She lets me drive it on rare occasions when I have to take my little brother and sister places and my big brother can't. He never can, because he's a jerk."

"I heard that." Came a voice from the back. The girl chuckled and shook her head. "I'm not really a jerk," a face appeared in the corner of the door. Jenn chuckled politely and shook her head.

"Do you mind if I smoke in here?"

"My mom would, but she won't here for a while." The girl slid an ashtray down the counter and Jenn stopped it with her hand, setting her bag down on the table. She dug for her cigarettes and found them. She grinned and pulled one out, lighting it. She knew she'd waste it, but it didn't matter. "Mind if I have one?" Jenn looked up at her, unsure of whether to give her one or not. She didn't look old enough. "No, I'm not old enough, but my mom can't really stop me."

"Yeah, but I'm sure dad could, Maria." She nodded and looked at Jenn. Jenn set her pack on the counter and the girl, Maria, reached for them and took one then reached for Jenn's lighter. "That's it, murder your lungs."

"Oh, like you've never smoked before. It's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah, you won't be saying that in 10 to 15 years when you're diagnosed with lung cancer." Maria rolled her eyes and lit the cigarette.

"Ignore him, he's so freaking paranoid about everything. He's the type that's afraid if he walks away from the grill for a minute, he'll turn back around and it'll be up in flames or something. It's creepy."

"What do you want on your burger?"

"Um, cheese." Jenn said smartly.

"Um, duh. Anything else?"

"No, cheese is fine." He walked in and set the plate with the burger on it in front of her. She put out her cigarette and looked at the burger. "Thank you." She reached forward, picking up the burger and taking a big bite of it. She chewed and swallowed then looked up, noticing the two teenagers were still watching her. "Is it poisoned?" She questioned, her mouth full of food.

"No." The boy laughed, shaking his head. "Is it good?" Jenn swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah, it's pretty good." She leaned in for another bite. She wasn't actually paying any attention to the tasted, she was just happy to get it in her stomach. So was her stomach.

"Yeah, my uncle taught me how to make that burger. A lot of work goes into one." Jenn looked down at her burger. It just looked like a burger to her. She nodded politely and swallowed the bite already in her mouth. "My uncle taught me a lot," he nodded, "I'm Paul." He reached a hand over to her and she eyed it.

"That's nice." Jenn took another bite of the burger and Maria laughed.

"What's your name?" Jenn looked up and he was still holding his hand out to shake hers.

"Jenn." She wiped her hand on the back of her pants and shook the guys hand, though she wasn't sure why. She took another bite of the burger and nearly swallowed it whole. The faster she got out of here, the better, these people were creeping her out. The even scarier fact was that they were about the same age as her. "You guys know of any hotels or motels that would let an eighteen year old get a room?" Jenn almost laughed when they exchanged glances.

"You could stay with us." Paul offered.

"Uh, thanks, but sorry, I don't know you." Jenn leaned down to take another bite.

"Paul and Maria O'Connor." Paul continued. Why did he want her to stay here anyway?

"Me knowing your last name don't change anything." Her mouth was always full of food when she went to talk. She swallowed and reached for her drink, taking a sip. She didn't drink Pepsi often, but she didn't like eating burgers without something fizzy.

"We're, like, the most popular kids in school." Maria continued.

"Obviously, I'm not from around here." Jenn so desperately wanted her cell phone to go off at this particular moment but then remembered it was still in the car's ashtray. "Oh, shit, I'll be right back, I left my phone in my car." Jenn jumped up, happy to get away from these weird kids.

"Five bucks if you spit on her burger." She sighed and reached her car. She leaned in the open window and grabbed her phone out of the ashtray and opened it, checking for any missed calls, she had none. She started walking back to the counter and eyed the two, almost violently.

"How much was this?" Jenn questioned, motioning to her burger and drink.

"Five." Paul said quietly. She nodded and sat back down. She looked over her shoulder, around the place. She stood back up and walked to a shelf that was loaded with various bags of chips. She picked out a bag and set them on the counter. "Six." He corrected himself. She nodded and looked at the magazines. She grabbed the first one that looked somewhat interesting and he looked at it. "Nine." Jenn nodded and chuckled on the inside. She sat down and opened her chips, pulling one out and putting it in her mouth the pulling open the magazine.

She was sitting there for at least a half hour, ignoring the glances from Maria and Paul; she was interested in the magazine article she was reading. It was about illegal street racing, which sparked her curiosity. Jenn glanced at her phone, which was sitting on the counter beside her. She still had no calls.

Jenn pulled the money out of her wallet and counted it and folded it neatly. She unzipped a section of her wallet and put it in then dropped it back in her bag. She continued eating her chips, which she'd only eaten half of so far. She looked up when Maria cleared her throat.

Jenn reached for her bag and pulled out her wallet, avoiding the rest of the burger she hadn't eaten. She pulled out a twenty and offered it out to her, who was waiting for it. When she reached for it, Jenn pulled it back then stood, walking over the sunglasses. She pulled off a pair and tried them on, looking in the skinny mirror between them. They looked good on her and she liked the way they felt on her.

Jenn glanced over the top of the sunglasses she had on when she heard a car revving its engine outside. She felt like she'd seen the car before, but she knew she hadn't seen it personally. Maybe she saw a picture of it. Jenn shrugged it off and moved to the counter, putting the glasses down.

Maria looked at the price of them and thought for a minute.

"Eleven sixty seven." Jenn nodded and handed her the twenty, putting the glasses back on. Jenn watched the man get out of the car and walk toward the door. She turned back to the counter and reached for her change, which Maria set on the counter. She put her cell phone in her jean pocket, her cigarettes back in her bag and reached for her wallet, which was still on the counter. Jenn looked out at the guy and he was looking at her car.

"What about a tip?" Maria questioned as Jenn started putting the change in her wallet. Jenn eyed her over the glasses and chuckled softly. Jenn tossed three pennies, one at a time, onto the counter.

"Word of advice. If you're going to pay somebody to spit in a customers food, whisper." Jenn turned quickly, slamming right into the man who'd just gotten out of the car, sending her money flying everywhere. "Oh, fuck." Jenn had to admit, that hurt. It was almost as if running into a wall.

"Oh, sorry." He said, bending down to help her with her money. She knelt down to pick up the change that had scattered. She exhaled softly and tossed the change into her wallet. The guy stood up and Jenn stood up. She figured he'd gotten it all. He offered it out to her and she smiled.

"Thanks." Jenn put her money in her wallet. Jenn grabbed her magazine and started her way out.

"Did I hear correctly, they spit in your food?" The guy asked after Jenn. Jenn shrugged a little and he nodded. He reached over the counter, opening the cash register. He pulled out some money and handed her a ten and a one. "My apologies."

"Oh, it's fine. It happens a lot."

"Not here, I hope." Jenn shook her head.

"I'm kind of like the social reject at school. People can be pretty mean." She hadn't actually meant it but the way she said it, it sounded sincere and she felt bad for herself. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where I could find a hotel or motel that would let an eighteen year old get a room do you? I'm kind of tired of sleeping in my car."

"That your car?" He asked nodding to it. She nodded a little and he studied her. "Where's your mom?"

"What?" Jenn questioned quickly. Did he know her mom?

"Nothing." He said quickly. "It could be anybody's car now, right?"

"It's mine." Jenn snapped, her anger taking over though she didn't know why. He nodded.

"Here, take this. And a free meal on us."

"I don't need your charity." She said pushing his hand and the money away, making an escape for her car. She knew he was following her but suddenly she felt light headed. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry about that, let me talk to you for a second." She turned and looked at him and he staggered back a little. He was staring straight into her eyes.

"What?" Jenn snapped, noticing his jaw had dropped slightly. Jenn didn't think she was ugly, but she never thought she was smoking hot. "What do you want?"

"Letty." He whispered under his breath.

"Did you just say Letty?" She questioned, softly, her anger turning to… she wasn't sure what it was turning to, but it wasn't anger anymore.

"You look like somebody I used to know."

"Named Letty?" He nodded and she nodded, looking at her car.

"Dominic Toretto," he said extending out a hand to her, "what's your name?"

"Jennifer," she thought about it for a minute and thought it best to lie, "Martinez." He nodded and in his eyes she could see he was let down. Was he expecting her to be somebody in particular? She wasn't sure about this man so she wasn't going to tell him her real name. It was just safe to lie.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

**That's it, until next time. Review it. It makes me happy. Okay? Okay.**


	3. III

**I think from here on out my chapters will be a little shorter than my first one. Not because I'm being lazy, but because I just threw too much into the first chapter and I'm trying to keep the length about the same, which I can't do without making it horrible. I'm also changing the rating after I post the next chapter. The next chapter will bring bad language, sexual situations and drug use, which obviously may not be suitable for younger people.**

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Jenn sighed heavily, enjoying the hot water that was spouting out above her head. It had been nearly a week since she'd had an actual shower. She heard the door open and listened closely to where the footsteps were. She heard the toilet lid go up and tinkling. She chuckled and peeked her head out from the shower curtain.

"You're not my mom." The boy stated. Jenn chuckled when he turned his back to her and tucked his pride back in his shorts. "You're not supposed to look," he whined.

"I didn't." Jenn whispered, trying not to laugh. She watched him walk to the sink and stand on his toes to wash his hands. "What your name?"

"Kyle. Who are you?"

"I'm Jenn. Your uncle is letting me stay here for a couple days." As a matter of fact, he'd spent nearly an hour trying to convince her to stay. For the fact that she'd lied to him about her last name, he thought she was her mother's niece, not her mother's daughter.

Jenn knew he was the man she'd come to Los Angeles to find and it was strange how she found them so fast based on a car she'd never seen, a diner she'd never seen and people she'd never seen. This must have been the way things were supposed to be.

"Hey, Kyle, you want to hand me a towel?" Jenn asked turning off the water. He smiled and turned to reach for a towel and walked toward her outstretched hand, putting the towel into her reach. "Thank you." She disappeared behind the shower curtain and wrapped it around herself. Once she made sure it was secure and covering everything a boy Kyle's age shouldn't see, she pulled back the curtain and stepped out.

Jenn moved to where she'd set her clean clothes down at and smiled at Kyle, who was watching her intently.

"Are you going to stay in here?" He shrugged and she chuckled. She remembered that Dani was the same way when Jenn moved in with her aunt. She would always stare at her in awe, but she was always nice to her, even if the rest of her family wasn't. They had really bonded and got quiet close after the four years that Jenn had lived there.

Jenn pulled on her underwear, holding the towel in place. She pulled on her jeans to follow; they'd stuck a little on her legs because she'd been trying to dress quickly so the little boy didn't peek. She turned, so her back was to the boy and dropped the towel. She quickly pulled on her bra then her shirt then draped the towel around her shoulder to dry her hair. Her hair dried fast because it was so short.

When she was fourteen she had long dark brown hair which was borderline curly, she'd gotten that trait from her mother. She loved her hair and so did the guys she had hung out with at the time. Then, in the matter of minutes, her whole world had changed. As a punishment, she chopped it all off and refused to let it grow passed her shoulders since.

"Jenn?" Kyle asked quietly. She looked down at him with a smile. "How old are you?"

"I'm eighteen, how old are you?" She smiled and watched his face as he thought about it for a minute.

"Five." Jenn nodded and smiled. She reached for her prized possessions off the sink and realized the set of dog tags that her mom always wore, the dog tags her mom gave her, were missing. She looked at the floor to make sure they hadn't fallen on the floor, but they weren't there. She felt panic wash over her; if she'd lost those dog tags, her mom would kill her. She hadn't been sure whom they belonged to; she'd never studied them. She started picking up the dirty clothes that were still on the bathroom floor and they fell to the floor. Jenn sighed in relief. They must have come off when she pulled off her shirt. She picked them up and then put them on, feeling more comfortable.

Tucking them under her shirt, she picked up her dirty clothes and folded them messily, setting them on the sink. After folding them, she went to leave the bathroom, passing Kyle as she did. He followed her down the hall and into the room she would be staying in.

They both looked up as Dom entered the room. Jenn smiled and Kyle ran over to him, wrapping his arms around his legs. Dom chuckled and knelt down, eyeing Kyle.

"I need to talk to Jenn about some important things, would you mind giving us some time alone, buddy?" Dom seemed like he was good with kids, which Jenn liked. A man being good with kids other than his own proves he'd be a good father, her mom had told her once upon a time.

Kyle nodded, exiting the room. Dom pushed the door closed and looked at Jenn. She set her dirty clothes at the foot of her bed and sighed softly, sitting down. He walked over and pulled up a chair to sit beside her.

"Any family member of Letty's is a family member of mine. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. Just, please, don't be like your aunt and up and leave." Dom whispered the last sentence almost as if he were afraid she'd break down the door and start screaming at him. Jenn nodded, smiling. "I'll bring up an empty laundry basket that you can keep all your dirty laundry in. I won't touch your laundry though, something about women's underwear, I just don't like washing it."

"Oh, don't worry, I don't like guys touching my underwear." It was the truth. She didn't like anybody touching her underwear, it didn't matter if she was wearing them or not. "I've done all my own laundry since I was fourteen, I'm pretty good with it." Dom nodded and looked around.

"There are some ground rules though, I should probably let you know about those." Jenn nodded and expected a long list of things she simply couldn't do, like her aunt said she couldn't do. "I don't want your boyfriends or whatever in my house. I do respect the fact that you are at least eighteen, but respect the fact that this is my house."

"No boys. Don't worry."

"No girls… if that's the way you swing."

"I'm not a lesbian," Jenn chuckled, shaking her head, "I like guys, I just don't want a boyfriend. Not now. Not for a while. Not until I'm at least ready for kids." Jenn swallowed and looked down. She'd never be ready for kids and she never wanted them for herself. "What are the other rules?"

"No drugs, no alcohol. I haven't had a single drink of alcohol in fifteen years and I haven't done drugs since I was nineteen, and that was just marijuana. I don't want any temptations to change that." Jenn knew that wouldn't be a problem. She never drank and she didn't do drugs, not anymore. Not since… "Be home by 11. I'm not you're father, but I would still like to know that your in and your safe at 11." Jenn nodded. "If you're running late, please call." She nodded again.

"Do Maria and Paul live here?" She'd been meaning to ask, but didn't want to be rude. "I don't really like them so much after what happened with the food."

"No, they live with their mother a couple streets over. I'm the only one who lives here. Well, besides you now. But you're just visiting." Why did he live alone? "I'm cooking out tonight. I'll have a couple friends over and my sister, which will mean Maria and Paul will be here, along with Kyle, who you obviously just met and his twin sister, Kayla."

"Yeah, Kyle kind of walked in on me when I was in the shower." Even though it wasn't really funny, they both laughed. "Then he just followed me in here, which was awkward, but my cousin was the same way when…" Jenn trailed off and her eyes shot up at Dom, who was still laughing over the fact that Kyle had walked in on her when she was in the shower. Was he paying attention? Would he notice? "Kayla and Kyle, that's cute."

"Yeah, my sister really liked K's during her pregnancy with them. Her husband didn't want either of them to know the sex of them until they were born. If it was two girls they were going to be Kayla and Kelly. If it were two boys, they were going to be Kenny and Kyle. It was a boy and a girl, so they settled on Kayla and Kyle, which was nice, I guess."

"Do you have any kids?" The question left her mouth before it even registered in her head. She already knew the answer to that question. He did have a kid, _her._

"Yeah. I actually have two." Jenn looked up at him intently, wanting to know more. "A son, he's eighteen." Jenn's heart dropped. She was eighteen. "Don't tell your aunt this, okay? She'd probably kill me if she found out I told somebody else when she doesn't even know. I cheated on her and I did it so much. It's probably why she just up and left me." Jenn nodded, watching him. "I didn't even find out the woman was pregnant until my son was eight. I haven't seen him since that day either. His name is Tony."

"What about your other kid?"

"I have a daughter." Jenn smiled. "I see her once a month, she's fifteen, and hates me because I'm never around, but her mom won't tell her that I'm not allowed around her." Jenn's heart broke and she swallowed, trying to mask it. He didn't know anything about her. Her mother had lied to her. "I actually haven't seen her in a couple months because she doesn't want to go anywhere with me. She keeps blowing me off to go see friends."

"Oh." Her voice was a lot smaller than she'd intended it to be. It sounded almost heartbroken, which is how she felt at the moment.

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"I have three sisters," Jenn said carefully. She had to be careful about what she said because Dom might catch on. "I'm the oldest. Harley is seventeen, Justice is sixteen and Danielle, Dani, is eight. Dani's the best sister any girl could have."

"There's a big age difference between you three older girls and the youngest." Jenn nodded and chuckled.

"She was one of those 'oops, I'm pregnant' babies. My mom wasn't planning and almost actually had an abortion. I talked to her out of it. I was hoping the new baby wouldn't be as big of a pain as my other two sisters." Dom nodded and chuckled.

"Yeah, I have one little sister and that's enough. She's five years younger than me and man, was it a full time job looking after her. Especially when she was in high school, I think I threatened every boy that called and asked for her." He chuckled at the memory. "At that point I was also looking after your aunt, making sure nobody messed with her either."

"How long did you two date?"

"We met when she was twelve, I was seventeen. I hated her so much because she was just so annoying, like my sister, whose the same age. She moved in with her parents up the street. She just clicked with my sister, they'd been best friends from then all the way up to the time she left." Jenn looked up at him, frowning slightly. "She was into cars, like me, and that's what made us kind of stick together. Her sixteenth birthday, was the day we made things official between us. We were together then through… when she left. So, that's…" he thought about it for a minute. "About eight years."

"Wow, that's a long time. She just up and left?"

"It was my fault. I don't want to sound too cliché, but I really didn't know what I had until it was gone. I treated her like crap and she took it. She's a tough chick, and she just let me do all that bad shit to her. I regret it now, but I just wanted to have fun then. I cheated, lied, stole from her. I don't blame her for leaving, honestly. I just wish she'd said goodbye." Something tore at Jenn's heart. She'd actually felt the guilt he'd felt. "Now, I'm nearing fifty and I'm pretty single."

"You don't look fifty." Jenn looked at his biceps and smiled a little. "You look about 30, if that makes you feel any better."

"Thanks, kid." They both chuckled and it was quiet for a couple moments after they'd stopped. Jenn could tell he was thinking about his mom, she could see it in his eyes. "What about your aunt? Did she have any kids? Did she get married or anything?"

"Yeah, she had two daughters. And no, she was never married, engaged, but never married." He frowned heavily, but forced a smile for Jenn. He knew Letty deserved to be happy and happy wasn't something he could make her. Not with his ways.

"Tell me about her kids?" Jenn nodded and smiled, until she realized she'd have to make up a name. "If you want."

"Morgan is eighteen," she didn't know what to say. She couldn't say too much because if she did, he could possibly figure out that she was this Morgan character she'd just made up. "Lorraine, Lori, would be five now." Jenn hung her head, she really didn't want to talk about it, but she would've if Dom asked.

She looked up into his curious eyes and looked back down quickly.

"She was engaged to the man who had gotten her pregnant but when he found out she was pregnant and wanted to keep it, he called off the engagement and the wedding and everything and left. She never heard from him again. So, it was her Morgan, Lori and their mom. Letty had an interview and asked Morgan to watch Lori for two hours. Morgan loved her little sister and she was happy to have her around, she just didn't like having to baby-sit when she had things to do."

"You okay?" Dom questioned. "You don't have to tell me if it's bothering you?"

"No, sometimes it just helps to talk about things, you know?" He nodded and she bit her lip gently, deciding to continue. "Instead of watching Lori she talked on the phone with one of her friends from school. By the time Letty got home, Lori was already cold." Dom stared at her, confused.

"What happened?"

"She'd gotten in the trash and choked on the plastic part of a pushpin." Dom watched her, seeing that she'd been fighting tears. Jenn wasn't one to cry, she tried her best to hold them back, no matter how bad her chest hurt and her nose burned. "After that, Letty never looked at her daughter the same way. Feeling rejected and responsible for what happened to her little sister, Morgan turned to drugs. It was all she had. She's clean now though. Much more likeable."

"Any idea what made her quit?" Jenn shook her head. She did know, she just didn't want to talk about it. It was something she'd never told anybody. The only person who knew was her and her mom. Those are the only people she wanted to know.

Dom reached over and put his arms around her, pulling her close for a hug. She smiled politely but didn't really know what to do. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been hugged by any man. Her last boyfriend didn't even hug her; he used her for sex, just like she used him for drugs. At that time, she didn't care.

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Jenn walked into the back yard and looked around, pushing her shades back over her eyes. She didn't feel like being here but she was doing it because Dom requested she come down for it. Spotting an isolated chair, she approached it, sitting down quickly.

The other people in the yard seemed to be enjoying themselves. Jenn just missed her mom, her cousin Dani and her friends, who probably were calling her cell phone right now to see why she had missed school all week, especially so close to graduation.

"So, you're Jenn?" A man asked from behind her. She turned in her seat, looking at him, nodding. "I'm Leon." He extended his arm out to her, which she reached up to shake, and set a chair down beside her, taking a seat. She smiled a little. "Dom says your Letty's niece."

"Yep." Jenn hiccupped. She was tired of telling the story.

"You're aunt was pretty big around here." Jenn nodded and looked at him curiously. "Besides being Dom's girl, she was fast, I mean, real fast. You're pretty lucky to have her car. How'd you manage to get it anyway?"

"I guess I was her favorite niece." Leon chuckled and took a sip of a beer, which Jenn had just noticed he was holding. "Thought you weren't supposed to drink here?" Leon shrugged and looked out at Dom, who was standing with a woman who Jenn had never seen.

"He let's us drink, but he doesn't want us getting all hammered and pressuring him to drink. We're pretty good about it, and when we get bad, he's pretty good at pushing us away." Jenn nodded, stretching her neck and leaning back in her chair. Jenn pulled off her glasses and looked around. "Damn, you sure you ain't Letty's daughter?" She looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "You look a lot like her."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

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**Review. Good or bad – I take critisizm, even though people rarely give it. I want to know how I can make this better, and any future ones I decide to write. I've got the next chapter already half done; it just needs to be edited for mistakes.**


	4. IV

**For those who don't know, I don't own the Fast and the Furious. Obviously.  
I have to give credit to my best friend Becka because she helped me write this chapter. I know she probably won't read it, but I am still giving proper credit. She deserves it.**

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_She watched the boys from her porch; watching one in particular shoot the orange ball into the net and curse out loud when he missed. She smirked knowing she could watch in private because he'd never look this way, not to her. She just moved in a couple days ago and she hadn't been socializing with the new neighbors like her mother or older sister._

_Her older sister, Rebecca, was four years older and it showed. Her body was more mature than hers and she was into make up and all that girly stuff. Her mom had assured her that when she grew up, she would get into all that stuff too, but she wasn't even the slightest bit interested in it now._

"_What are you doing, kid?" She looked up at her mom, who'd walked out onto the porch, sitting beside her on the step. She looked straight ahead to the guy she'd just been just watching. "Wow, he's cute."_

"_No he's not!" She fired to her mom, embarrassed. Her mom nodded a little and smiled, watching her daughter._

"_Letty, why don't you go talk to him, maybe he wants a new friend too. I've seen a girl your age over there before. Come on, let's go introduce ourselves." Her mom stood up, holding out her hand to Letty, who shook her head, scared. "Why not baby?"_

"_What if she doesn't like me? Like Rebecca."_

"_Rebecca loves you, baby."_

"_I'm not a baby, mom." Her mom nodded, frowning a little. Letty got up slowly and looked at her mom. "Okay, let's go."_

_Together, they walked to the house where the guy had been playing basketball with the guy. One stopped and looked at them as they headed up the sidewalk to his front door. He approached slowly and Letty slipped behind her mom to hide from him._

"_Hello. We're new to the neighborhood. I'm Chris Ramirez," she turned, looking for Letty, "this is my youngest daughter Letty. She's a little shy." The guy nodded and smiled at them both. "My other daughter Rebecca is on the phone with her friends back home, or she'd be here too."_

"_I'll get my pops." He muttered. He disappeared into the house leaving Letty and her mom alone on the porch. Her mom gave her a friendly smile and she was thankful because she thought she was mad at her for hiding from the boy. Letty jumped as the screen door opened and a girl her age stood there, looking for her._

"_Hi!" She said happily. She must have been happy to find out there was somebody her age that lived near her. "I'm Mia Toretto."_

"_Hi. I'm Letty."_

"_Letty?" She questioned with a sour look on her face._

"_It's short for Leticia. Her father named her." Chris Ramirez said to Mia, because she assumed her daughter wouldn't. "She prefers Letty."_

"_I like Letty," Mia whispered quietly, smiling at Letty. "Letty, do you want to come play with me?" Letty looked up at her mom and she smiled, nodding._

"_Sure." Letty smiled and followed Mia around toward the back of the house._

_Her mother smiled, happy and relieved she'd finally come out of her shell. She was extremely close to her father, who'd just recently died in a car accident. It was why they moved, to get away from the environment. After he died, Letty kept to herself and barely talked, even to her mother._

"_Dominic!" Mia shouted, annoyed, toward her brother, who grabbed the ball out of the air and looked at her. All of the boys did. "This is Letty, she's our new neighbor." Mia looked at Letty. "Letty, this is my big, stinky brother Dom." Dom nodded his head toward Letty and she couldn't help but smile. "That's his friend: Vince. They both care about are basketball and cars. They always stink too."_

"_Aw, Mia, that's not very fair," Vince mock whined, "you stink too." Mia rolled her eyes and both of them laughed. Mia turned to walk away, but Letty's feet were planted, staring at the basketball. She used to play with her dad before he died._

"_Can I play with you guys?" Letty asked, not thinking about being turned down. She knew she was good. She frowned when they laughed at her and turned to walk away, following Mia._

"_Don't mind them, they're jerks." Mia insisted, but Letty was still burned and hurt that they wouldn't let her play with them. She didn't have a hoop at her new house and even if she did, she wouldn't have anybody to play with. Her mom worked a lot and her sister was too worried about boys._

-- -- -- --

"_God, Dom, I hate you!" Letty shouted across the basketball court. He finally agreed to play one on one with her and she was winning. Then he got upset and knocked her on her ass, making her scrape the palms of her hands. Mia was immediately at her side, looking at her hands._

_It took her a whole year's progress for him to finally play with her, now that she'd beaten him, he would never play with her again. She didn't care though; she was mad that he'd knocked her down then stalked off angrily. She wiped her slightly bleeding hands on her jeans and turned to walk into the house._

"_He's such a jerk!" Letty growled to Mia even though she already knew. She washed her hands in the kitchen sink and wiped them on a clean dishtowel. She tossed the dishtowel aside and sat down at the table, Mia sliding in beside her. "I hate him so much."_

"_No you don't," Mia insisted, "You know you love him." Letty took a deep breath. It was true; she loved him since she saw him. Mia was the only person she could admit that to. "But you're right, he is a jerk." _

_Letty eyed him harshly as he entered the kitchen, pulling the fridge open and pulling out a bottle of water. He cracked it open and took a long drink. She let her eyes skim down his body as he drank the water. She swallowed and looked over at Mia who was smirking. Dom screwed the lid back on the water and looked at Letty._

"_Sorry I knocked you down, Let." He walked toward her, looking down at her in the chair. "Are you okay?" She nodded and smiled a little. "Good." He turned with his water and left the house again._

_-- -- -- --_

"_Hey! Linder!" Dom shouted down the lot, walking toward the guy walking up the street. Letty slowly rose out of her chair and watched Dom carefully. He was the guy who was supposed to be responsible for Mr. Toretto's dead and Dom was more than ready to seek vengeance for his father. Letty elbowed Vince who was flirting to some girl over the counter._

_Letty squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She was praying on the inside, hoping Dom wouldn't hurt the poor guy. Letty opened her eyes and her knees felt weak at the sight. Vince was trying his best to get Dom off Linder, having no luck. He hit Dom on the back of the head, hard, catching his attention and snapping him out of his anger bubble. Dom got up and looked around at all the blood. He turned and started running in the direction of his house. _

_Vince was trying to get Linder up off the cement, giving up and now running toward Letty. Passing her, she figured he was going to call an ambulance. Letty hoped Linder was okay, but right now somebody needed to make sure Dom was okay. _

_Letty started down the lot and stopped to look at Linder, who didn't look like he had any life left in him. Letty frowned and took off running in the same direction as Dom, following him the half mile to his house, not stopping until she reached the front door._

_Turning it slowly, she entered the house, closing the door behind her. She didn't know where Dom was or what kind of state he was in, so she was trying her best to be careful. Hearing a noise upstairs, she made her way toward the stairs, climbing them slowly._

"_Dom?" She whispered. "It's me, Letty." She pushed open the door to the bathroom to find him standing there in only a pair of boxers. "Dom?" He didn't look at her; instead he was staring at the running water in the shower._

"_Letty." His voice was dry. "Letty, I fucked things up." Letty nodded a little and he frowned. "I don't want to go to jail, Letty. I don't." She stepped toward him, pushing the door closed._

"_Dom, we have to go back. Things will be worse if you run." He looked into her eyes and she felt the pain through that look. "Come on." She reached for his hand and he let her take it, but didn't move when she pulled on it. "Dom, come on, we have to go." He pushed off his boxers with his free hand and Letty quickly squeezed her eyes shut. He pulled toward the shower but didn't let go of her hand._

_Letty wondered if he was going to let her stand outside the shower or if he was going to pull her in. Before she could ask, her hand was being pulled. She, as quickly as she could, kicked off her shoes and stumbled into the shower, Dom still holding her hand. The water was hot, but it felt good. Dom pulled her to face him and looked into her eyes. He was hurting and she knew it._

_Before she could open her mouth to ask him any questions, his lips were over hers. It caught her off guard and she roughly pulled away from him. He didn't let go of her hand; instead he pulled her back and repeated his previous action while pulling her closer. She whimpered and squeezed his hand. He let go of her hands and backed her into the wall in the shower._

"_Dom, I love you."_

_-- -- -- --_

_They came for him, like she knew. When they showed up, she was asleep in his bed dressed only in one of Dom's shirts. He just kissed her forehead and left, silently. After she woke up and realized he was gone and he may be gone for good, she locked the door and cried, refusing to open it for anybody. Not even for Mia when she offered her food. Many trays of food sat outside the door, uneaten._

_Four days later she unlocked the door and exited. Taking a shower and putting on his clothes, which were too big, but she'd rather wear this than anything else. She went to the kitchen to join Mia and Vince at the table for dinner. Not a word was said but they all watched in amazement at how much food she'd eaten._

-- -- -- --

"_Hey, Mia." Letty said entering the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out a can of Pepsi, popped it open and took a long drink. "Ahh," she sighed in relief._

"_Let, please. I'm trying to make dinner for Dom." Letty nodded and adjusted her pants on her hips. "Go outside and play ball with Leon or something." Letty nodded again and headed out the back door._

_It was nice outside, but it was always nice outside. She walked over to Leon who was shooting hoops alone and he passed her the ball. She dribbled it for a minute then shot it, making the basket and they both chuckled._

_"This feels weird." Leon looked at her, letting the ball roll away. "Him coming home."_

"_I've never met the guy." Letty nodded. "He seems like a good guy, scary, but good."_

"_Yeah, he'll like you. As long as you don't mess with his sister or his best friend." She was careful not to include herself in there, because she wasn't sure where they stood._

_They both looked up as Vince's car pulled into the driveway. Letty swallowed hard and moved to where the ball had rolled to and bounced it over toward Leon. He chuckled and took a quick shot, missing. Letty snatched it before it could bounce back to him and shot it, making it._

"_I never miss," Letty bragged and Leon chuckled, trying to steal the ball before she took another shot._

"_Who's that?" Letty heard Dom ask Vince. Letty stopped and looked at Leon._

"_Dude, that's Letty." Dom was quiet but she could feel him staring at her. She glanced over her shoulder at Dom and was surprised to see how much he'd changed. Due to her age, she wasn't allowed to go and visit him. He was more toned and his head was shaven. She liked it._

"_Damn," he said exhaling, "she got hot."_

"_Well, thank you for noticing Dominic." She said turning toward him with a smirk._

-- -- -- --

_She smacked him as hard as she could, wanting to hurt him like he'd hurt her, but she couldn't do that._

"_Letty…" She smacked him again and he grabbed her wrist and squeezes it, slamming her into the wall she was standing in front of. She gasped in pain and reached up to smack him with the other hand. She caught him cheating again and she was ready to leave this time. "Marry me." He said, easing up on the way he was pushing her into the wall. "Please, marry me." She leaned forward, kissing him roughly._

"_Yes."_

-- -- -- --

_Letty sat on the hood of her car in the garage, trying to think of how she should go about telling him. She'd pulled up her shirt and was tracing a finger around her belly button._

_She sat up when she heard a noise from the office in the back of the garage. Letty thought she'd been alone. The only cars that were here were the cars that were left over night to be worked on. She slid off the hood of the car and slowly walked toward the office door. She opened it and peeked her head in to find Dom, her husband, with some blond pressed against the wall._

_Something snapped when she watched her dig her nails into his back, leaving a path of red lines. She glared as the blond marked territory that wasn't hers to be marking. Letty swallowed, pulling her shirt down and turning, leaving the door open. She got in her car and slammed on the horn. She heard more movement in the office as she started her car._

_She left. She wasn't about to stick around and listen to Dom's fake apologies and have him explain how much he loved her. She was too angry to care._

_That was the last time she saw Dom._

-- -- -- --

"_That's a beautiful daughter you've got there, Mrs. Toretto." She smiled at the doctor and nodded. She did have a beautiful daughter. She didn't necessarily need a doctor to tell her that, but it was nice to hear from somebody other than her. "You two are both healthy and you're all set to leave the hospital." Letty cradled her new daughter in her arms and smiled at her. "Got any names planned?"_

"_Jennifer Isabella Ramirez."_

-- -- -- --

"_Leticia, will you marry me?" He asked her, kneeling down on one knee. She glanced over the spaghetti on the table to a younger Jennifer, who was grinning and nodding._

"_Of course I will." He smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger. She moved forward off the chair, kissing him passionately. Jennifer got out of her chair and walked around the table, hugging them both._

-- -- -- --

"_Hey, Jennifer." Letty whispered, pulling her daughter down beside her. "I've got to tell you something, baby. Mom's not going to get married anymore, okay?"_

"_Why not?"_

"_Jason didn't want a baby. Mom's going to have a baby."_

"_I'm going to have a little sister?"_

"_Or a little brother."_

"_I want a sister."_

"_I'll see what I can do baby."_

-- -- -- --

_Jennifer sat in the armchair with her legs having over the arm and her back to the other arm. The telephone pressed firmly to her ear, talking almost obnoxiously to her best friend._

"_Jennifer, I have an interview, I need you to watch Lori for a bit. Okay?" Letty asked, looking at herself in the tall mirror in the hall. "I won't be long."_

"_Whatever."_

"_She's in her walker, just keep an eye on her, okay?" Jenn nodded and waved off her mom. Letty nodded, swallowed and exited the house._

_When she walked back in less than an hour later, something didn't feel right. She peered around the living room to see Jennifer asleep in the armchair in the exact same position she was when she left. Letty felt her heart drop as she started walking around the house looking for her other daughter._

"_Jennifer!" Letty shouted, causing Jenn to wake with a start. She jumped out of the chair and ran to where her mother was. Turning the corner into her baby sister's room, her heart dropped. Her mother on her knees, tears already streaked her face, in front of her sister's walker. Jenn took a step forward and felt her eyes water as she saw her sister's small, lifeless body. Letty stood up and walked toward Jenn._

_Letty shoved her backward, causing her to hit her head hard on the wall behind her. She was thrown with such force; it knocked the air out of her chest. Letty didn't even flinch when she saw that her oldest daughter was having difficulty trying to breath. She just wanted to hurt her, use her as a punching bag. Letty hit the wall to the immediate right of Jenn's head, causing Jenn to whimper._

_The slap came hard and fast, knocking Jenn to the ground. Her face burned and she didn't feel like she could open her eye at all._

"_You killed your baby sister." Letty's words were harsh, but at that moment, she meant them._

-- -- -- --

"_What is that?" Letty asked, already knowing the answer. "Are you doing drugs in my house again?"_

"_Don't worry about it, Letty." Jenn snapped. She hadn't called her mom since her sister died. Letty slapped her, hard. Jenn, who was high, hit back, catching her mother off guard, knocking her backward. "Don't touch me."_

_Letty swung back with a closed fist, striking her daughter in the face, knocking her off balance. Jenn stood back up and glared at her mom. Letty raised her arm again and Jenn blocked it and shoved her shoulders as hard as she could, sending her backward. _

_Jenn gasped loudly when she watched her mom hit the back of her head on the very corner of a shelf she'd kept all her CD collection on. Her mom had taken the entire shelf with her in the process._

_She ran out of the room and grabbed the phone, calling the police._

-- -- -- --

"_Hey…" Letty looked up at Jenn. "I'm leaving."_

"_Oh, well, maybe tomorrow."_

"_No, I'm leaving town."_

"_Oh." She whispered. Jenn frowned and looked at her. Letty felt the tears well in her eyes but fought them._

"_I'll be back, and I'll be here for your surgery." The woman smiled._

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise." Jenn nodded and Letty stood up, which caught Jenn off guard. She opened her arms and wrapped them around Jenn's waist, pulling her close. "I promise I'll be back for you."_

"_You're my Jennifer and I love you." She stated._

"_You're my mom, and I love you." Jenn whispered. "I miss you. I'll miss you." Jenn kissed her cheek and squeezed her. "I have to go. I'll bring you back something nice, okay?"_

"_Okay. I miss you." Letty watched her quietly exit the room and let the tears stream down her face since there was nobody here to watch her cry._

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She sat up quickly, looking around the room. She thought hard about where she was. She got out of the chair and looked out the window.

"Good afternoon Leticia." A woman said cheerfully as she entered the room, holding a tray of food. "How are you today?" The lady put the tray of food down in front of her and smiled.

"Thank you." The lady sat down on the other side of the table and watched her.

"Dr. Michaels has informed me that you've been having some complications the last couple of days. Is this correct?" Letty shrugged sniffing the food in front of her. She wasn't sure about it. She'd never thought about it being more than food before, so why was she thinking about it now?

"Where's my daughter?" Her tone had been different, catching the lady off guard. She stood and looked down at Letty, looking in her eyes curiously. "Do you know where Jenn is?"

"I'll be right back." She exited the room and wasn't gone very long before she came back with a man in a white coat. Letty stood quickly, her fists automatically balled at her sides.

"Hello, Ms. Ramirez, how are you feeling?" Dr. Michaels asked approaching her. He took a quick note of her fists at her side and looked up at her face. "Come with me, please."

"Is something wrong?"

"No, we just want to run some tests." Letty nodded and followed the two of them.

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**Review.**


	5. V

**I have to give credit for this chapter to my friend Becka because she gave me some ideas of how to fill it. I know she doesn't read it, but I'm still giving proper credit.**

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After a week at the Dom's house, she felt like she had a real family. Or at least a couple friends. Maria and her bonded after a couple days and they'd been getting along much better.

Jenn had been running around with Kayla and Kyle, trying to keep them entertained until dinner was finished. She knew she shouldn't have been barefooted, but the kids were too so she didn't care. Besides, the liked the way the cool grass felt under her feet. Jenn wasn't sure what it was, but it sure hurt like hell as it entered the arch of her foot, causing her to roll forward onto the grass, swearing loudly. Kyle and Kayla took off toward their mother and Dom was the first one by Jenn's side. He gave her a worried look and she sat up, pulling her hurt foot onto her lap.

"Oh, fuck," Jenn muttered, seeing something sticking out of her foot. It was long and obviously sharp. She pulled it out with her fingers and examined it. Not knowing what it was, she held it up to Dom and he shrugged, looking closely. "Looks like a piece of wood." She tossed and sighed, examining her foot. It wasn't bleeding, but then she noticed something small and black barely sticking out of her foot. She put pressure on either side of it, trying to push it out completely.

"We should clean that before you pull it out," Mia insisted, joining the group that had formed around her. Dom stood, reaching down his hand to Jenn. As she took it, she felt herself being pulled up and her arm was around Dom's neck. He practically carried her into the house even though she was on her own feet.

He helped her up the stairs to the bathroom, everybody following curiously. Pushing the door open, he sat Jenn down on the toilet seat and turned toward the door. Everybody looked up at him as he pushed the door closed. Turning back to Jenn, he smiled a little.

"Here, let me set you on the sink so I can put your foot in the sink to wash it." She nodded and let him put her arm around his neck. He lifted her with ease, setting her on the counter, with her left foot in the sink and the other draping over the side. "Is it numb or anything?"

"No, I can feel it pretty well." Dom moved toward the door and opened it, surprised to see that it was just Mia standing there.

"Can you give us some privacy, Mia?" Dom asked. Mia glanced over at Jenn then back at her brother. "I just need to talk to her, that's all." Mia nodded and turned, walking back toward the stairs. Jenn swallowed as Mia disappeared and Dom closed the door.

"Am I in trouble?" She questioned, confused. Dom didn't seem to be the type to be aggressive when mad or get physical either, yet for some reason she felt panic rise in her. She tried a smile but he didn't smile back. She quickly lost the smile when he turned on the cold water without looking at her. Did she do something wrong? Did he know? "Ouch!" She said loudly as he poked a spot on her foot where it was swollen. "No, that doesn't hurt."

"Sorry," he muttered. Jenn frowned and exhaled sadly.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" Jenn questioned, watching him. He was searching the drawers until he found a pair of tweezers then looked up at Jenn. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Let's just get this out of your foot, okay?" He leaned in closer to her foot, turning off the water. She winched as he pinched her skin with the tweezers. Jenn hadn't felt the pressure at that particular spot in her foot, but when the object was pulled from her foot, she felt a release. Dom quickly turned the sink back on and pushed the bottom of her foot up under it. Jenn looked up at Dom and he showed her what was stuck between the tweezers.

"Looks like a piece of metal." Dom nodded and pulled it closer to his face. He'd never seen anything similar to it, but hoped this was all that was outside in his yard. He didn't often wear shoes outside either.

Jenn reached forward, turning off the water and looking at the bottom of her foot. It wasn't bleeding or anything, which she was thankful for. She didn't deal with blood very good. "At least it isn't bleeding," she whispered, looking up at Dom.

"It did bleed, but not much. Still hurt?"

"Not as bad." Dom nodded and dropped whatever was between the tweezers in the trash and moved back toward Jenn. "Dom?" He looked at her and she smiled a little, hoping for one back. No such luck, which made her frown.

"I need to talk to you, Jenn." She looked at him and nodded. He walked over and sat on the toilet. Jenn sat facing the door, letting her legs dangle over the sink. "Tell me about your mom, Jenn."

"What do you want to know?" Jenn questioned, confused. Why had he asked? Nobody cared about her aunt Rebecca, nobody, her own kids barely cared. They cared to get the money she gave them each week. "Why do you want to know?"

"I don't know." He shrugged and she looked up at his face. It was dark and emotionless, which made Jenn worry a little. She didn't feel threatened, just worried.

"What's up, Dom?" She wished he'd just cut to the point instead of beating around the bush.

"I just think it's weird that you look so much like Letty and nothing like her sister. Why you have the same attitude as Letty, the same 'mess with me and I'll knock your teeth in' attitude." Jenn swallowed, which didn't go unnoticed. "So, stop your bullshitting, and tell me the truth."

"My full name is Jennifer Isabella Ramirez. I came here to find my father. I think I did a pretty good, job." Jenn looked up at Dom and he looked at her. "I look like my mom, I get that from everybody who's seen my mom. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to be forced to like you just because you're my father." Dom was still looking at her. "That's all."

"So you lied to me, about her being engaged and having two kids. Morgan?" Jenn chuckled and shook her head, but Dom didn't find it very funny.

"Morgan was my best friend when I was ten and we lived in Chicago. She moved away."

"So, you're her only kid and she's never been married, right?"

"No, I didn't lie about that. I had a little sister, Lori. My mom almost got married to a… he was a very nice man; I loved him like a father. He left her when she told him she was pregnant with his child. A couple months later she had Lori." Jenn shrugged. Dom stood up and Jenn looked at him. He turned to the door and pulled it open.

"I don't want you to stay here," Dom muttered as he exited the bathroom, not taking another look at Jenn. She looked down at her bare feet and sighed heavily. Swallowing hard, she hopped off the counter, completely forgetting the injury on her foot, falling forward after putting the slightest pressure on that spot.

"Fuck." She whimpered, rubbing her foot. She pushed herself up off the floor and stood, putting all her weight down on her unhurt foot. What was she supposed to do now? She could probably sleep in her car, just like she'd done all week.

"What happened?" Leon was the first one Jenn looked up to see, Mia behind him with another guy she'd never seen before. Jenn leaned against the doorframe and looked up at them. "What happened Jenn?" Too Jenn's surprise, it was Leon who seemed to be the most concerned.

"They weren't lying, you do look a lot like Letty." The stranger nearly gasped, catching the eye on Jenn, who was now glaring at him. "That's just what they said."

"Who are you?" Jenn questioned toward the man she'd never seen.

"Oh, Jenn, this is my husband, Vince. Sorry, I forgot I hadn't introduced you two yet." Mia said with a smile. Jenn nodded her head in Vince's direction. "What happened with my brother Jenn?"

"I just told him the truth. He told me he didn't want me to stay here anymore. I'm going to go home, I guess." Jenn shrugged a little, as if she didn't care, and moved to pass the three of them. She did care, but she didn't want to show her disappointment. Vince stuck his arm out and pushed her back gently. They were all giving her the same look; they wanted to know the truth. She'd have to tell them too. "Letty's my mom, Dom's my dad. I didn't lie to hurt anybody, but seeing as how I did, I will be leaving. Excuse me." This time it wasn't Vince who stopped her, it was Mia.

"I don't think so. There is no way I am going to let you walk out of my life. Not again." Jenn, for some reason, felt her anger rise within her.

"I didn't walk out of your life, that was my mom. So just leave me alone. Okay?" Jenn pushed through them and Mia grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face her. "Let me go."

"How could I be so stupid to believe you were Letty's niece? You've got that same freaking attitude as her and you look **exactly** like her when she was your age." Jenn made a move to pass Mia and the guys again, but Mia stopped her again. "You're not leaving."

"Yes, Mia, I am leaving and there honestly isn't anything you can do about it."

"Wait!" Mia insisted, giving her pleading eyes. "Just hear me out, okay?" Jenn looked at her and nodded a little. Mia inhaled sharply and reached into her pocket for a notepad she had in it. She pulled the pen out from the spiral keeping the papers together, scribbled something and tore it out. Glancing over it again, she handed it out to Jenn. Jenn eyed it for a second then reached for it, looking it over. "If you leave right now, promise me you'll be there tonight, around eleven."

"What's going on there?" Jenn questioned, folding the paper, having already committed it to memory.

"Just please be there." Jenn nodded and smiled.

"I'll be there."

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Getting out of the car, Jenn leaned against the closed door. The cars were lining the street and there were a couple hundred people crowded around various cars, which Jenn thought were much nicer than hers. Not seeing a single familiar face, so she figured it would be best to stay put.

"Hey mami," Jenn glanced in the direction of the voice to see an older Hispanic man, "you lost?" Jenn crossed her arms over her chest and looked forward again. She would try her best to ignore him, to prevent her anger from boiling. "What's your name, mami?" Jenn looked over at him, eyebrow raised. "You look familiar, do I know you?"

"Nah, I try not to make nice with old perverts like you." Jenn turned and opened her car door, preparing to get in.

"Yo, Jenn." Whirling around, relieved to see Leon, she smiled.

"Leon, you know this chick? She's hot."

"Yo, man, chill out. She's too young for you man. Besides, you remember Letty right?" The other guy nodded. "This is her daughter. Jennifer, this is Hector. He coordinates all the races, holds the cash. He has since… shit, since I can remember."

"Damn, I knew she looked familiar. Damn, she looks like Letty. Damn." Jenn smirked at Hector's use of the word 'damn'. "Nice to meet you, kid." Jenn nodded and smiled a little when Leon was pulling her away and toward the familiar faces she hadn't seen earlier, and a female she'd never seen before.

"Just in time, Jenn, the race is just about to start." Walking farther away from her car and closer to the people she knew already, she saw the four cars lined up behind a red line that had been painted on the street. "We haven't had a race in about a month, but Dom's looking to win this."

"Jenn." Jenn whirled her head around, looking for the person who knew her. Seeing nobody, she turned back to Leon, who was rambling on about Dom and his opponents.

"Glad you came, Jenn," Mia started moving toward her, "After a while, I figured you went ahead and left town. You and Dom just need to talk. I was hoping after he won you two could talk." Leon shook his head and started pushing them closer to the starting line where the cars were lined up. "Oh, Jenn, this is Grace, she works at the garage." Jenn smiled at the woman she didn't know, who smiled back.

Jenn wasn't that into cars, so the only knew the colors. Dom had just stepped out of the red car that was furthest away from them and walked over to Hector. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked over the other three cars. A bright green one next to Dom, an orange one beside that, and the car closest to her was a silver Mustang. Jenn stood straight and watched the silver Mustang. She _knew_ that car.

"Hector don't know who's in that Mustang, but I'm gonna smoke it." The voice was Dom's but the words didn't register. "What's _she_ doing here?" Jenn was still staring at the car when Dom grabbed her arm, catching her attention. "What are you doing here?"

"You're gonna lose." Jenn said absent mindedly, turning her attention back to the silver car. If only the driver would roll down that tinted window, it would confirm her thought. "Don't race, you're going to lose."

"I don't lose." His voice was deep and angry. He shoved her arm away roughly and started back toward his car. She looked around to Mia and Leon, but they were busy watching the cars.

"He's going to lose, guys." They were still too busy and the cars were about to leave the line. She looked around to see if anybody was paying attention. Grace was staring straight at her. "He's going to lose."

"Are you willing to bet a thousand on that?" Grace asked, holding up a roll of money between her thumb and middle and index fingers. Jenn thought for a minute, staring at the money. She didn't have a thousand dollars, but she was sure he would lose to that Mustang. She nodded and Grace smiled, putting the money back in her pocket, turning as the cars left the line to cheer Dom on. Not that it was going to help.

Dom did lose and Grace gave the sourest look as she handed the roll of money over Jenn, who thanked her quietly. Jenn took a deep breath and deposited the money into her jean pocket. She scanned the crowd of people for Dom, and found him, walking toward her quickly.

"How did you know I was going to lose that? Nobody could have known that!" His anger was scaring Jenn now. "Was it a plan to get my money? If you wanted money, you should just ask."

"If that was true, I don't think I would have told you that you were going to lose. Besides, who do I know in Los Angeles? Nobody." Dom shoved her hard, almost knocking her down. He was mad, but Jenn didn't see why. She did try to warn him. He was too cocky to listen.

Jenn jumped when she felt a hand close around her wrist, catching her. Then another hand caught Dom's wrist before his hand came down on Jenn. Jenn looked up at the person who'd caught her, eyes widening in surprise. That definitely wasn't who she thought it was.

"Hey, keep your hands off my daughter." They muttered, shoving his hand away.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

**Okay, I will leave it there. Feel special guys, I stayed up late last night trying to finish this. When I didn't, I got up early to finish it this morning. Now I'm off to work. Let me know what you think. Oh, and by the way, no reviews, no new update. Simple as that. Sorry for doing that.**


	6. VI

**It was set in my mind that I wanted to finish this less than a week after I posted my last chapter, but I had a couple things come up. One, I went back to work. Not much of a work schedule, but its work and I don't feel like doing anything when I get home from work. Two, my mom got sick. She had this nasty cough and fever. Turns out, she had bronchitis, which sucked. So I was spending a lot of time taking care of her. Then, after making plans with friends for this weekend, we were hit with a huge snowstorm. (I live in Columbus, Ohio for those who don't know… and we got twenty plus inches of snow.) So now that I'm off two weeks from work, not voluntarily, and semi-still snowed in… I will catch up on my writing. Provided I finish this chapter, which I'm struggling with. Now, sorry for the long note here, but continue on please, for the chapter. Oh, and review when your finished. I don't want to have to break out the threats again.**

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"_So… basically, you're saying that I can go now, right?" Letty whispered, turning toward the doctor. He nodded and gave her a small smile. "Perfect." She stood up, wiping the back of her pants. "I'm going home."_

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"Dominic Toretto." Her voice was firm, yet slightly sarcastic. "How longs it been, huh? Ten, twenty years?" She put her thumbs in her belt loops and watched Dom.

"You know perfectly well how long it's been, Letty." He growled. She chuckled and nodded then looked toward Jenn.

"What are you doing here?" Jenn questioned, looking up at her mom. "I thought you were getting that _thing_ next month."

"Does it look like I need '_the thing_'?" She shot back quickly. Jenn knew it was best to back down, so she stepped back, looking at Dom, who was looking at Letty.

The faint sound of sirens in the distance caused the watching crowd to scatter. Jenn looked around, confused, watching everybody yell and run to their cars. She was frozen in place.

"Where's my car?" Jenn pointed up the street to the car that belonged to her mom. "Keys." Jenn reached into her pocket and handed them out to her. "Here, take the mustang. Don't wreck it. Meet you back at Dom's place." Jenn watched as she took off running for her car. She waited until she saw she'd gotten in the car before getting into the mustang herself. Starting the car, she pulled off quickly, screeching down the street.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

When Jenn pulled up in front of the house, there were already a couple cars lining the street. She knew these cars though; they weren't unfamiliar, which was good. She was hoping only family would be around when her mom and her dad got into what she already knew was going to be a big argument.

"Oh, good, Jenn, you didn't get caught. I would've felt so bad." Mia wrapped her arms around Jenn's neck, pulling her close for a hug. "Your mom hasn't showed up yet. I'm worried." Jenn nodded. "I thought you were her, with the mustang. I'm glad it's you though."

"Where's Dom?" Jenn couldn't bring herself to say anything else. Mia pulled her into the house and Jenn saw him sitting in a chair with a beer in his hand. She frowned and watched him finish the beer and get up, staggering a little. "How much has he had to drink?"

"Sadly, he's only had two beers," they watched as he dropped his empty bottle into the trash and went for a new bottle, "now, three. I hope Letty gets here soon. Before he's too drunk to stand." Jenn nodded in agreement and turned to look out the window, hoping inside.

"She's here." Jenn said standing and turning toward everybody in the living room. Which, at that point was only Mia, Leon and Vince. Where had Dom gone? Did he go in the kitchen for a beer? Jenn walked to the door, opening it, then pushed the screen open for the woman. "Gross." She winced as she inhaled a strong scent of alcohol.

"Dominic!" Letty shouted from the door. "We need to talk!" He appeared in the door to the kitchen with a half-empty beer in his left hand. "Let's talk."

"Let's go upstairs then." Dom muttered, heading for the stairs.

"Um, maybe you two should stay down here. Sober supervision." Dom shook his head.

"Private conversation." Letty whispered, following Dom up the stairs, leaving the four of them standing there.

"Do you think everything will be okay?" Jenn wondered aloud. Mia and Vince exchanged glances with Leon. "What?"

"We should probably give them some privacy," Leon started, "I'm going to head home, Bella hates it when I come home late." Mia nodded and walked with him to the door.

"Vince, do you think we should go too?" Mia asked as Leon exited the house quickly. Vince glanced at Jenn then back at Mia. "Jenn, you can come with us, we only live a couple blocks away." Jenn shook her head. If anything happened, she wanted to be here. "Are you sure? Maria might like the company."

"Thanks Mia, but I'm going to stay. They're my parents. I should stay." Mia nodded and smiled at Jenn.

"If you need anything, we're number two on speed dial." Jenn smiled and walked toward the door as they exited. She closed the door and locked it then looked at the stairs.

Flopping down on the couch with her head on the arm, she sighed, heavily. She hoped everything would be okay. She never expected them to get back together, not even when she was little, but she did wish on it. Jenn thought it would've made things easier with her and her mom, because nothing else seemed to.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"We've both been drinking, this isn't going to work out the way either of us want it to. I know that for certain." Letty spoke easily as Dom sat at the foot of his bed and she leaned against the closed door. "If we try and talk this through right now, we'll probably end up sleeping with each other. Or worse, you'll ask me to marry you and even worse, I'll say yes. By the way, I've been wondering: did you ask me to stop me from walking out that door or because you just loved me that much?"

"Letty, you know I love you." Dom insisted. "I still do. Even after everything you put me through."

"Everything I put you through? What about all the shit I had to put up for you? Huh? I mean, you cheated on me, even after we were married."

"You left me, without even a word. And you were pregnant with my daughter!" He spat back fiercely. She rolled her eyes, not seeing the big deal. She had been mad at him for so long, she was set in her mind that she was right and he was wrong.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, she may just not be your daughter, Dom." She looked at him quickly after she realized what she'd said. She hadn't meant to say that.

"What?" He questioned, sounding hurt. Letty swallowed and looked at him as he stood and approached her. "What do you mean she may not be my daughter?" She bit her lip because, right now, she didn't care whether she hurt him or not.

"Yeah, well, Dom you cheated so I was just doing the same." Letty shrugged. Now she just wanted to hurt him. "And let me tell you right now, he was so much better than you." She tilted her head up and acted like she was thinking about that time. "So good."

"Oh, fuck you Letty. Get out of my house." She shrugged her shoulders and turned, opening the door. Before she could make her way out the door, he was there, pushing the door closed. "Were you really going to leave?"

"It's what you want, right? You want me to leave." She didn't know why but her voice was quiet and cracked. "Right?"

"You know better than that." Before Letty could open her mouth to say another word, Dom's lips were on hers, pressing her against the door gently. Despite everything she told herself before she got there, she couldn't stop herself from kissing him back.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"You awake?" Letty asked, opening her right eye to look at Dom. His smile was real, which made Letty smile and open her other eye. "How long have you been awake?"

"I was watching you sleep." His voice was quiet, but not a sleepy voice.

"Why were you doing that?" She rolled onto her side facing him and smiled a little.

"You're gorgeous when you sleep." Letty opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "You're always beautiful to me. Just, when you sleep, you aren't mad, you aren't happy, and definitely not sad." A smile pulled at Letty's lips and he gave a soft smile in return. "Why'd you leave me?"

"I was just so tired. So tired of coming home to you sleeping with some other woman, in our bed. I tried so many times to cheat on you, but I couldn't bring my heart to do it. I loved you too much."

"Loved?" He questioned quietly.

"I don't know anymore, Dom. You just hurt me too bad." They were both quiet for a moment. "And I don't think that this relationship can ever be again." All he could do was nod, knowing she was right. Deep inside he knew he deserved to feel the way he felt at that moment. "I need to know you understand that, and respect that."

"I understand that. I can respect that. I probably just can't accept that." He pulled her forward, kissing her lips lightly. He frowned a little when she pulled back, but nodded. "So what was this?"

"Whatever it was, it was nice." They shared a laugh and Letty smiled, looking up at him. "I haven't been with a guy in like five years, Dom. That wasn't what I was expecting, honestly."

"Well, what were you expecting then Letty?"

"I was expecting Dom. What I got was so much better. It was passionate." She drew herself closer and smiled against his lips before leaning, kissing him softly. "I still love you, so much Dom, but I'm sorry, this won't work anymore. There's absolutely no trust anymore."

Nodding, he pulled away from her gently, glancing at the clock on the table by the bed. "Let's go back to sleep, okay?" Dom suddenly felt extremely exhausted and his eyelids were heavy. Nodding, Letty smiled and closed her eyes after Dom.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Jenn grumbled when there was a knock on the door. Not wanting to get up, she pulled the pillow over her head.

"Jenn, it's me. Are you home?" Grumbling, Jenn got off the sofa and walked to the door, pulling it open, glaring at Maria, who looked as if she'd just gotten up too. "Sorry," she started pushing her way through the door, "my mom said your mom and my uncle stayed together last night. I needed to know."

"Do you guys strive on gossip or something?" Jenn questioned, closing the door and turning toward her cousin. "I guess all teenagers do, huh?"

'Hell yeah. Besides, it's not like anything else happens around here anyway." They both chuckled. "You hungry? I'm hungry. I wonder if Dom has any good food." Maria grabbed Jenn's wrist and pulled her into the kitchen. "So what happened last night?"

"I didn't hear a whole lot," Jenn lied, "but I heard this weird thumping noise." Maria dropped the piece of bread in her hand and turned toward Jenn, giggling.

"Gross." Maria picked up the piece of bread and tossed it toward the trashcan, missing. "I suck."

"Literally." Jenn muttered picking up the piece of bread and dropping it in the trash. "So, what are you making?" She turned to Maria and chuckled because she was glaring at her for her earlier comments. "Oh, you know I love you."

"Uh huh. I was thinking about making French toast, I'm hungry." Jenn nodded and plopped down at the table with a soft sigh. She felt a sharp pain in the bottom of her stomach and whimpered quietly. "Oh, looks like somebody's about to get their monthly visitor." Jenn glared up at Maria and she laughed.

Jenn wished.

"What are you two doing?" They both turned to the kitchen door and Jenn smiled at Dom. "Oh, breakfast." He walked up behind Maria and looked over her shoulder at the pan. "French toast, yum. Have a seat, I'll finish this up." Maria smiled and took a seat beside Jenn. "What are you doing here anyway Maria, don't you have a house?"

"I came to say good morning to my favorite cousin." She grinned when Dom looked at her. "So, tell me all that happened last night Uncle Dom."

"It's none of your business, Maria." Jenn went to open her mouth but Dom stopped her with a look. "None of yours either, Jenn." The girls giggled and Dom rolled his eyes, flipping the bread in the pan before him. Folding her arms on the table, she put her head down on the table. She whimpered aloud when she felt herself falling.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"_Jenn!" The redhead yelled across the crowd, approaching her best friend. "I'm glad you could make it!" Jenn grinned and nodded at her friend._

"_Cara, I said I'd be here. I always keep my word." Cara nodded and gave her friend a hug. "Even though my aunt will kill me when I get home. I don't care, I just want to have some fun." Cara nodded and offered Jenn a bottle of random alcohol. Jenn shrugged a little and took it. Why not?_

"_Steve, James, and Scott are downstairs playing poker. They may be looking for a fourth player." Cara reached for another bottle and offered it out to Jenn. "Take that down for Steve. He's been bugging me for more. Keep an eye on him for me; there are some big whores down there. I don't want him cheating on me."_

"_He wouldn't cheat on you, Cara, he loves you." Cara shrugged a little and Jenn frowned when she disappeared into the crowd. Jenn turned toward the basement door and started down the steps, closing the door behind her. _

"_Jenn! What's up, babe?" Scott grinned as she stepped down the last step. Jenn smiled at him and took a seat between him and Cara's boyfriend, Steve. "Hey sexy, when you gonna let me take you out?" Jenn scoffed and shook her head._

"_Never." The other two guys laughed and Jenn noticed the girls in the corner applying their twentieth or so layer of make up._

"_Damn. Let's get you dealt in here, huh?" Jenn nodded and watched Steve shuffle the cards. She picked up the cards that were dealt to her and nodded her head a little at her two pairs. "Hey, Jenn, if I win this hand, let me take you out."_

"_Isn't winning enough?" Jenn questioned, looking up at Scott, who was shaking his head. She loved his blue eyes, but wasn't into dating anybody at the time. "Okay, fine." Jenn put one card down on the table and smiled at Steve, who was watching her._

"_Just one?" Steve asked, handing her another card. She nodded and smiled a little more before turning it over to look at it. "How about you Scott?" He shook his head and looked over at Jenn dreamily. Steve and James both set down their five cards at the same time, leaving the game between Scott and Jenn._

"_So what do you two have?" James asked curiously. Scott flattened his cards on the table, grinning. "Not bad, spade flush, pretty hard to beat. Jenn?" Grinning, Jenn turned her cards around in her hand. "Full house, Jenn wins." James looked at Scott, who looked bummed. "Sorry bout your luck there, Scott." Scott nodded and stood slowly._

"_I think I'm gonna get out of here, guys." Everybody but Jenn looked up at him and nodded. "See you around, Jenn." She nodded at him without looking up and tossed her cards across the table to James who was dealing now._

"_Scott, wait." One of the girls in the corner stopped him from starting up the stairs. Jenn looked to see all three of the girls stand and approach him. She rolled her eyes and looked back at James. Jenn didn't want to admit it, but she was jealous. Scott was hers even though she didn't show she wanted him._

_Jenn and Scott had a past together. He was the source of her drugs and she often paid him with sex when she didn't have any money. After she moved out of the area and got drugs out of her life, he was out of her life. He found her one night and he'd been coming to all the parties he heard of hoping to see her there. He eventually found the people she hung out with and had been trying to get a date with her since._

_Jenn jumped a little when a card flew at her hand and both James and Steve chuckled. Jenn picked up the cards and looked at them; this hand sucked horribly. Setting the cards down, she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest._

_They played cards for about an hour, not really paying attention to the time, drinking and having loads of fun._

"_James? Are you still down here?" It was Cara making her way down the stairs. "Lydia wants to get out of here. She said you're her designated driver." James nodded and stood up, scooting his chair out. Jenn smiled up at Cara and she smiled back. James headed up the stairs and Cara walked over to Steve, kissing him. "I have to go out to the store and get some trash bags to clean up the mess upstairs. Everybody is gone."_

"_Okay baby." Steve smiled at her and Jenn chuckled to herself when they kissed again. "I'll be here when you get back." Cara looked at Jenn and Jenn nodded. She may as well stay; Steve wasn't too bad to talk to._

"_I'll be back in a little bit." With that Cara turned and headed back up the stairs._

"_Let's play pool." Steve suggested and Jenn chuckled, stumbling a little as she stood. "You alright?"_

"_I'm fine, and I'll kick your ass." Jenn said cockily, picking up a stick. Steve grabbed one of the remaining three and moved the rack off the balls that were already arranged. "I'll break." Jenn leaned over the table, aiming the cue ball at the racked balls, shooting, making them scatter._

_She stepped away from the table and watched Steve shoot; missing the ball he was aiming for. Jenn laughed and leaned back over the table, losing sight of Steve as she took aim on her next ball. If she weren't drinking, she wouldn't have missed._

_Jenn turned quickly when she felt Steve step behind her a little too closely and place his hands on her hips. "What are you doing?" She questioned, looking in his eyes. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned down, kissing her. She looked at his face, confused. _

"_Your ass is hot." He muttered, kissing her again, pushing her backward onto the table._

_-- -- -- --_

_Jenn slipped off the couch, clutching her shirt to her chest, reaching for her jeans. Watching for movement from Steve, she slipped on her jeans quickly, not caring about her panties, not wanting to look for them. She searched for her bra and whimpered, reaching to pull it from behind Steve, hoping not to wake up. She put it on quickly then headed for the stairs, pulling her shirt over her head._

"_Ouch!" Cara whimpered, rubbing her forehead. "That hurt, Jenn. Where are you going? Where's Steve?"_

"_I have to get home and Steve crashed on the couch downstairs." Cara noticed that Jenn was avoiding eye contact._

"_Everything okay?" She questioned, worried._

"_Yeah. My aunt called, she told me to get home, and I'm probably grounded again." Cara nodded and Jenn rolled her eyes. "I'll see you at school on Monday, alright?" Cara nodded and Jenn moved passed her to get to the door._

_The faster she got out of there, the better._

_Cara looked around the basement, eyeing her boyfriend and taking a note that he was only wearing boxers. She noticed something red on the pool table and walked over, trying to figure out what it was. She frowned when she realized it was a pair of underwear. Underwear that she knew weren't hers. Looking at her boyfriend, she nodded a little and headed back up the stairs._

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"Jenn!" She heard somebody shouting at her. Her eyes fluttered open and she winced at the brightness of the room. "Are you okay, Jenn?" Opening her eyes and focusing a little, she realized it was her mom, who looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" Jenn asked, her voice raspy.

"You fell out of your chair at the table. Maria said you were having cramps and you put your head down and the next thing she knew, you were on the floor. Are you okay? What's wrong?" Jenn could sense the panic and worry in her mother's voice.

"I'm fine, mom." Jenn sat up and stretched her arms over her head, yawning. "I think I was just tired." Jenn swallowed and looked up at her mom. "Can I talk to you?" Jenn looked around the room, noting they were alone in her room.

"Sure. What's up?" She took a seat beside her daughter and frowned when she noticed she wasn't smiling. "What's wrong?"

"Mom, I think I'm pregnant." Jenn whispered, not wanting to admit it to anybody, not even herself. Letty blinked a couple of times, not really registering what she'd said.

"What?"

"I think I might be pregnant."

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

**Dun dun dun. I'm still kind of deciding where I'm going to go with this story. I'm horrible at ending stories, I don't know if anybody has noticed this or not, but I am. Maybe I won't end it. Maybe I'll keep on going. I need drama. This doesn't have enough drama in it yet.**


	7. VII

**As always, thanks for the reviews. Not all of the questions asked in those reviews are answered in this chapter, but I promise those answers will come up. If there are any questions, please ask. I can make this a semi-better story with some reader feedback. Thanks. Enjoy. And review, as always.**

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"So tell me whose ass I need to kick. Because, Jennifer, you **cannot** be pregnant." Letty stood, watching Jenn as she dropped her head in her hands. "I don't remember you even mentioning the fact that you had boyfriend. Why wouldn't you tell me you had a boyfriend? Wouldn't you want me to meet him?"

"Mom!" Jenn snapped, before she could continue with the questions. "Calm down, please?"

"No!" She snapped back, stepping closer to Jenn. "Tell me who he is and why you didn't tell me sooner that you were out having sex with some guy I've never even met."

"Oh, and you weren't doing the same exact thing with Jason?" Letty straightened her back and looked at Jenn. "Or did you forget about that too? You know, just like you forgot about me." Letty's face fell and Jenn stood, not willing to back down.

"I never forgot about you." Letty's voice came out a lot quieter than either of them was anticipating, catching them both off guard. Jenn didn't want to yell after she'd already hurt her feelings, and Letty didn't want to talk for fear of her feelings getting in the way of the argument.

So they sat there, quietly, avoiding all eye contact as Letty took a seat back on Jenn's bed and Jenn slowly paced the floor.

"Who is he?" Letty whispered, looking up at Jenn, who was frowning.

"He was just some guy. We had a little too much to drink and it just happened. It was probably one of the biggest mistakes I ever made." Letty nodded, still curious but she didn't want to push.

"Why did you come out here?"

"I wanted to find dad," Letty nodded, "and luckily I found him pretty quickly once I was in the city. He said I could stay here if I wanted. Last night at the race, or whatever you guys call it, I was only there to talk to him because I rather bluntly told him I was his daughter, which he didn't know, because I told him you were my aunt." By the time Jenn looked at her mom, her eyebrow was arched in curiosity.

"You told him I was your aunt?" Jenn nodded once, afraid of what her mom would do. "And he believed you? You look so much like me when I was your age, it's unreal."

"They all had their suspicions. Nobody believed me when I said you were my aunt but they didn't really object much either." Letty nodded and Jenn sat down beside her. "What happened? Why are you here?"

"I don't know what happened, Jenn. Just all of a sudden everything came back to me."

"Everything?" Jenn questioned, worried.

"Yes, everything." Jenn nodded. "I remembered your grandfather, who I could barely remember before, and I remembered so much between then and now." Jenn kept looking at her. "I remember the drugs, Jenn. Now, tell me why you were doing that."

"I just didn't have any other way of dealing with Lori's death. At the time we both hated each other, and you can say you didn't, but you sure as hell gave off the vibe that you did." Letty nodded with a frown, keeping her eyes down. "I know that it was my fault, I should have been watching her. And I never meant to hurt either of you."

"I know that." Letty took a deep breath. "But I need to step up and I need to be your mother right now. Tomorrow we will be going back home, driving, because I'm not leaving either of these beautiful cars here. No buts, Jenn, we're going home."

"I don't want to. I want to stay here with my dad and my aunt and my cousins."

"We're leaving tomorrow morning after breakfast. Be ready." With that Letty stood and quickly exited the room, leaving Jenn alone.

"Fuck," muttered Jenn as she smacked the wall by her bed.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"Is she okay?" Dom asked, worried, as Letty entered the kitchen. She nodded and smiled a little. "Oh, good, that's what I was hoping on. I didn't even know what to do when she fell." Dom turned toward the counter and turned back toward Letty with a plate. "Made you breakfast."

"Um…" She watched as Dom set the plate on the table with a small smile. "I'm not really hungry, Dom." She tried to keep her face straight as she watched his smile turn to a frown. "Sorry." He shook his head and tossed the plate onto the top of the trashcan and left the kitchen as quickly as he could.

Letty walked to the trashcan with a sigh, picking up the plate. He'd made her French toast, but instead of adding a gallon of syrup, which she hated, he added butter and sprinkled it with powdered sugar. That was her favorite way to eat French toast, with butter and powdered sugar. She dumped the contents of the plate into the trash and moved to the empty sink to wash the plate.

"Hey, Let." Letty turned her head to see a smiling Mia, and waved with a soapy hand. "You know what's up with Dom? He seemed pretty upset when I passed him on the way in." Letty shook her head and turned back to the sink. "Oh, well, I wanted to come talk to you." Letty turned off the water and set the plate on the counter, not sure of what to do with it.

"Talk about what?" Letty questioned turning toward Mia. Letty followed suit as Mia sat down at the table, sitting across from her.

"Like where you've been the last twenty years. What's been going on with you? Why'd you just disappear on us without saying a single word? Did you remarry or have more kids? I want to know everything."

"Why?" Letty whispered quietly. "Why do you care? I'm here now, aren't I?" Mia nodded and kept looking at Letty. "And I'm sure you'll find it a big surprise I left Dom because he was cheating on me." Mia shook her head and Letty nodded. "I didn't think so."

"That's why you left? Because he cheated?" Letty nodded once. "Why didn't you come back? Why didn't you call me, tell me what happened? We were supposed to be best friends."

"You're mad because I left and I didn't call to tell you why?" Letty questioned, anger rising.

They both turned toward the back door as a girl whose name Letty didn't know, even though she looked somewhat familiar, entered the kitchen.

"Hello." The blond said, smiling between the two of them. "You must be Letty, I'm Grace." Grace extended a hand out to her and Letty stared at her. After a minute of Letty staring, Grace dropped her hand. "Not very sociable, I see." Grace turned to Mia and smiled. "Have you seen Dom? I wanted to ask him a question."

"He left a couple minutes ago." Grace nodded and smiled at Letty, turning back toward the door. "What did you need sweetie?" Letty closed her eyes tightly trying to get her mind off what it was on as Grace turned back around. "Maybe I could help?"

"Probably not. Dom and I were supposed to go out tonight, I was going to ask him if we were still on." Letty swallowed and looked over her shoulder at Grace, who was leaning against the back door. "I'll just call his cell phone or something, it's cool." Mia nodded.

The attention turned to Letty when she stood and exited the kitchen quickly. She barely made it to the stairs before she broke out in tears. Leaning against the railing of the stairs for support, she stood there, trying to collect herself before anybody saw her.

"Let?" She heard a voice from up the stairs. She wiped at her eyes furiously and turned toward the voice, sniffing. "Are you crying?" He questioned stepping closer to her.

"Of course I'm not crying, Leon, that's silly." He gave her a concerned look after seeing her pink eyes. "I don't even have tear ducts." He laughed and shook his head putting his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"Are you okay?" She nodded and gave him a small smile. "You want to talk?"

"Yep." He nodded and pulled her upstairs into the bathroom. "What are we doing in here?" She questioned with a little giggle, trying to hide it though.

"Your eyes are wet, I'd hate for anybody beside me to know you were crying."

After Letty washed her face and let her face flush to hide the fact she'd been crying, she sat on the edge of the bathtub and yawned loudly, shaking her head and looking up at Leon who was studying himself in the mirror.

"Daddy?" A little voice came from the door, causing them both to turn toward the open door. "Are you busy?"

"No, baby, what's up?" Leon knelt down in front of the young blond and Letty smirked to herself.

"You said we'd go to the park today." She whispered almost as if she didn't want Letty to hear.

"I did, didn't I?" He questioned. She nodded vigorously and Letty chuckled to herself quietly. "Alright, well let's go to the park. Go downstairs, I'll be down in the minute." The girl nodded and turned to run in the opposite direction. Leon stood and turned toward Letty, who couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

"Leon's a daddy?" She teased.

"That's Isabella. She likes Bella." Letty nodded and smiled. "I promised I'd take her to the park today. Do you want to come? We could talk."

"Yeah, sure." Upon exiting the bathroom, Letty almost ran into Jenn, who was headed into the bathroom. "Jenn, we're headed to the park." Jenn gave a little nod. She was still mad. "You want to come?"

"I'm a little old for the park, Letty." She nodded and Jenn disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Letty sighed and followed Leon down the stairs, hoping he hadn't heard, but knowing he had.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Letty had been sitting on the same swing for nearly an hour watching Leon run around with Bella, who was just a little ball of energy. Watching Leon and Bella made Letty miss the friendship her and Jenn had when she was much younger. Kicking off her feet in the dirt, she started swinging, pumping her legs for momentum. Letting her head fall back, she loved the way the wind felt in her hair. Sighing softly, Letty dragged her heels into the dirt below the swing and slowed herself to see Leon walking toward her. She smiled softly and he took the swing beside her, smiling back.

"Funny, I didn't really have you pegged as a swing person." Letty chuckled and looked at lean, squeezing the metal chains. "What's on your mind?"

"Everything," she whispered, "so Grace, she's like Dom's girlfriend now?"

"Who knows? Dom's his own person now. He doesn't come to us about things anymore. He wants his privacy, just like we want ours." Letty nodded and watched Leon's face fall. "All I know is that Grace is crazy about him. She talks about him nonstop. Has ever since they met."

"Ever since they met?" Letty questioned softly. "They haven't known each other that long, have they?" Letty became alarmed at his silence and exhaled heavily looking over at him. "Leon."

"We met her the weekend after you were gone." Letty nodded silently, looking out to where Bella was playing by herself. "She started coming to all the races, we didn't go to many, but she was there. I think after about five years, Dom offered her a job at the garage. He was really desperate because that was about the time Brian had left and I had met a girl, so neither of us was around much. I guess Grace is pretty good with cars and shit." Leon stopped talking when a heavy-eyed Bella approached the two of them. "What's wrong baby?"

"I'm sleepy." She stated simply. "Can we go home and take a nap?" Leon glanced at his watch then at Letty, who was smiling.

"Alright, let's go." Letty watched Leon rise from the swing and take Bella's hand. Leon looked back at Letty and smiled a little. "Aren't you coming?"

"I was waiting to be asked." Letty smiled, standing up from the swing and following behind Leon.

"Daddy, will you carry me?" Bella asked, starting to drag her feet.

"No, you're a big girl now, you can walk. It's only a couple more blocks." Letty frowned at the groan from the girl and looked at Leon.

"You know what, Bella?" Letty asked toward the girl. The sleepy eyes of the girl made Letty smile a little. "I can give you a piggy back ride, if it's okay with your dad." Bella gave her dad a hopeful, yet sleepy look and he looked at Letty. "It's not a problem."

"Alright." Leon muttered, unhappily. Letty stopped and knelt down, letting Bella climb onto her back. She couldn't help but smile when she wrapped her little arms around Letty's neck. Standing, Letty hooked her arms under Bella's legs and looked at Leon. Leon smiled when Bella put her head on Letty's shoulder and closed her eyes. "She's just going to sleep on your back."

"That's fine. I'd rather carry her than hear her complain the whole way there. She's not that heavy anyway. Are you even feeding this kid?"

"She eats like Vince eats, she just doesn't seem to gain any weight whatsoever." Letty chuckled and adjusted Bella's weight on her back. "It's only about another block to my house." Letty nodded and smiled at Leon.

After walking about a block and a half, Letty followed Leon up a driveway to a huge house. "This is your house?" Letty questioned, "It's huge. Lucky, man."

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later." Leon muttered, pushing open the gate and Letty followed him quietly to the house, where the door opened and a red haired woman smiled widely at them. "Hey, Bonnie." She waved and watched them as they passed through the door.

"Oh, hello." Her voice was cheerful, like Mia. "I'm Bonnie." Letty set Bella down and she took off down the hall. Letty reached forward and shook Bonnie's hand, smiling at her.

"I'm Letty. Leon and I are friends." She nodded and smiled and started after Bella. Letty turned toward Leon and gave him a confused look. "She's pretty."

"Letty, that girl is like half my age." Leon whispered, pulling Letty by her arm into the other room. "Bonnie has lived here since she was eighteen. She helps me take care of Bella."

"What? Did her mom run off on you?" Letty questioned sarcastically. She looked at Leon when he inhaled sharply. "What happened?"

"You hungry? I can make you lunch or something." Leon started toward the kitchen. Letty followed slowly, looking around as she did. "Hey, sweetie, I thought you were sleepy." Letty looked away from a picture of a baby and a young brunette on the wall to see Bella sitting at the kitchen table, smiling at Leon.

"I was hungry too." She smiled. "I want grilled cheese." Leon chuckled, nodding and walking to the fridge. Pulling out a couple slices of cheese and looked around for the bread. "What's your name?" Bella questioned Letty, who wasn't paying attention. Instead she was looking at another picture of Leon and Bella when she was about five.

"Honey, that's daddy's friend Letty." Leon said after he realized Letty wasn't even paying attention. "Letty?" She was still staring at the pictures that lined the wall. "Letty!"

"Huh?" Letty questioned, spinning toward him, confused. "What happened?"

"We were talking to you." Bella spoke before Leon could open his mouth.

"Oh, sorry, I was looking at these pictures." Letty whispered, trying to smile at Leon, who wasn't smiling back. Did she say something wrong? "What's up?"

"I'm going to go watch TV until lunch is done." Bella slipped out of the chair she was sitting in and disappeared through a door. Letty looked back at Leon and he was watching the food carefully.

"Leon?" Letty questioned quietly. "Leon, look at me." Turning off the burner that the pan was on, he looked up at Letty. Letty walked around the counter and wrapped her arms around Leon tightly. "Leon, what's wrong?"

"She died!" Leon shouted.

"Shh," Letty hissed, not knowing how far away Bella was, "Who died?"

"Bella's mom," his voice dropped to a whisper, "two days after she was born." Leon shook his head and shoved Letty away harshly. She watched him, confused, as he collapsed on the floor in front of her. Letty didn't know what to do as she watched Leon break out in tears, having never seen him cry before. She knelt down in front of him and swallowed.

"Leon, come on." Letty reached down her hand to help him up off the floor. "The last thing I want right now is for Bella to walk back through that door and see her dad crying on the floor." Leon pulled Letty down to the floor and she hit her knees with a light thud. "Come on." She whispered.

"Letty…" He trailed off, looking into her eyes. Hating the pained look in his eyes, all she could do was frown. He grabbed her chin and pulled himself closer, pushing his lips against hers, not allowing her to pull back. She put her hands on his shoulders to push him back, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "Let," Leon whispered against her lips, "I love you."

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"**What the fuck? You suck!"**

**In my defense, I don't see anything wrong with a little Letty/Leon pairing. Granted, I may have lost a few readers, but this is just a minor thing for them both. Of course I can't tell you that I'm ultimately going to pair Dom & Letty because it would ruin the story. Plus it's no fun to know if you already know. I am a major drama whore and I am always thinking of ways to add drama, and believe me there, there is LOADS more to come. Next chapters will be longer, I promise. Now, review!**


	8. VIII

**I can't think of anything that needs to be said about this chapter. Somebody from the past makes an appearance, and it won't be his or her last either. Um… Review? I'm more creative when people are more loving.**

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Leon grabbed at the bottom of Letty's shirt desperately, wanting it off. As he go the shirt over her head, he heard the faint ringing of his cell phone from his pocket. Grumbling into Letty's mouth, he pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her, massaging her lower back. He grinned when his phone stopped ringing and he started working on Letty's pants. She pulled away from his lips and moved to his neck, breathing raggedly as she kissed it softly. Leon grumbled as his phone started to ring again, still ignoring it. Letty pulled away and gave him a semi-concerned look.

"Shouldn't you answer that?" She questioned, leaning in to kiss his neck again. 

"I've got more important things to do right now. Like you." Despite the cheesiness, Letty couldn't help but chuckle. "Besides, they'll call back. Now, where was I?" Leon put his hands back over the button on her jeans and grinned, biting his lip as she bit into his neck playfully. "Right here." Leon popped the button loose and Letty rocked forward into his hand as it slipped between her underwear and jeans.

"You should probably answer that." Letty whispered as Leon's phone rang again. He whimpered and looked at her, wiggling his hand a little. "Answer it, it could be important." Leon nodded and leaned back, reaching into his pocket for his phone. He leaned forward to give Letty a quick kiss before answering his phone, putting it to his ear.

"Dude," Leon muttered, "what ever happened to the code. You know, I don't answer my phone, it means I'm busy." Letty sighed softly when she realized who it was. She leaned back on her hands and crossed her legs at her ankles, watching Leon. "Yeah, I'll let you know if I hear anything. Yeah, no problem." Leon flipped his phone closed and looked at Letty.

"Let me guess," Letty started, "Dom's looking for me for some reason. I'm going to safely guess that he's mad about something I probably didn't even do."

"I guess Jenn told him something and he's upset. He wants to talk to you about it. He sounded pretty pissed." Leon offered a hand out to help Letty off the floor. She reached for it, and instead of pulling herself up, she tried pulling him down. "Come on, Letty." He grabbed the counter to keep himself from tumbling forward. "I said I'd go look for you and since I already know where you are, I have to take you over there. Come on."

"Can't you just say you looked around, while we fool around?" Letty questioned curiously, biting her lip. Leon answered her question by picking up her shirt and holding it out to her. "Fine," she muttered snatching her shirt from Leon. She pulled it on quickly and buttoned her jeans just as fast. "I'll walk." She quickly made a move for the door but Leon grabbed her by her waist and pushed her against the counter, a little rougher than she was anticipating. "Get off of me, Leon." She muttered, trying to push him away roughly, which only made him grab her wrists tightly.

"Go get in my car. I will take you to Dom's." He pushed her wrists away roughly, pushing her even harder into the counter. She whimpered softly, not wanting him to hear. Leon walked to the stove and stared at the pan on it. Letty slipped quietly out of the kitchen and looked around as she made her way back through the house to the front door. She gave a quick smile to Bonnie and Bella who were sitting on one of two large couches before disappearing out of the door.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

As Letty approached Dom's house, she suddenly wished she could just make a quick getaway. Just to jump in her car and drive back home, but without Jenn around, she couldn't just leave. She sighed softly and looked at Dom as he started down the sidewalk toward her. Taking a deep breath as a red-faced Dom approached her; she stopped as they met at the end of the driveway.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been looking all over for you. You don't tell anybody where you went and you're car is still sitting here. You could have been mugged or kidnapped or who knows what. I was worried about you. I went in to ask Jenn if she knew where you were and she totally sprung this whole pregnancy thing on me. Did you know she was pregnant?"

"She mentioned it to me, yes." Letty said keeping her eyes fixed on Dom.

"Why didn't you bother telling me this? Huh? Or were you too busy having sex with Leon?" Dom snapped angrily. Letty snapped back, but not with words, with a sharp slap to his face.

"I am not your wife any more, Dominic! It is none of your fucking business who I sleep with. And I actually found out this morning that you have a girlfriend. So why would it matter if I were sleeping with him anyway?" Letty swallowed, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down. "And yes, Jenn is your daughter, but she doesn't know you. Give her a break."

"No, Letty," Dom started, despite Letty's scowl, 'I am her father. I have every right to know about that kind of shit." 

"Yeah? Well, where were you the first eighteen years of her life?" Letty questioned then turned quickly, walking in the direction she just came in.

"I was right here, Letty. I was always here!" Letty sighed softly. She wanted so badly to jump in her car and leave. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go find my daughter." Letty shouted over her shoulder. 

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

As Letty rounded the corner where she could see the park, she wasn't expecting to see Jenn sitting on a swing alone. Approaching slowly was her best bet, guessing Jenn was still mad at her for making her go home before she was ready to.

"Thought you were too old for the park, Jenn." Letty joked quietly, stepping up beside Jenn. "Mind if I sit here?" Jenn shook her head and she took a seat beside her, facing the opposite direction. "Your dad told me you told him you were pregnant. That was pretty brave of you."

"Yeah, well, it just slipped out." Jenn whispered. They both sat there in quiet until Jenn started laughing, which earned her an eyebrow raise from her mom. "Oh, man, you should've seen his face." They both laughed as Jenn tried her best at mocking his face. 

"Oh, you're horrible." Letty shoved Jenn's shoulder jokingly and they both laughed. 

Looking up, Jenn quit laughing quit laughing immediately, straightening her back as a tall, balding man approached the two of them. Jenn wanted to say something to make him leave, but when she opened her mouth, nothing would come out. Letty cleared her throat, still laughing a little.

"I wish I could have seen the look on your fathers face. I bet it was priceless." The man froze as Letty spoke and made eye contact with Jenn. "Too bad you didn't have a camera." Letty finally looked up at Jenn's face, and then turned to look over her shoulder to see what Jenn was looking at. Letty stood up quickly and turned to face the man. "What are you doing here?"

"You have my car." He swallowed and took a step toward her. Instinctively, she took a step back causing him to shift uncomfortably. "Keys?" He asked holding out his hand a little. Letty looked at Jenn and frowned, needing her to stay but still wanting her to go.

"Jenn," she whispered quietly, "would you mind giving us a little time to talk?" Jenn shook her head and stood from the swing. "Maybe you should head back to Dom's." Jenn nodded and smiled softly at her mom then turned and gave a little nod in the direction of the man standing there, before heading back toward Dom's house.

"When you came and asked to borrow my car, I was kind of hoping when you came back we could talk." His voice was quiet and softer than she was used to. "When you told me you were coming to Los Angeles to find Jennifer, I was worried, not for you, but for Jennifer. Why was she here, alone?"

"She came here to find her dad. I can't say I blame her. She's eighteen. She's old enough to make her own decisions. Despite the fact that she took my car without permission, I'm behind her all the way." Letty stepped around the swing and started in the same direction as Jenn, not wanting to be followed, but knew she would be.

"Letty, come on." He whispered, following closely, snatching her wrist gently in his arm. Turning in surprise at his gentleness, she looked in his eyes.

"Something's wrong," she whispered quietly, turning completely toward him. "What's wrong?"

"My moms in the hospital." He nodded a little and she looked down, sighing. "I wouldn't have even bothered telling you Letty but she keeps asking about you. And I don't have the heart to tell her. She's not going to be around much longer, would you just go see her when you get back in town?"

"Yeah." Letty whispered, turning back to walk the other way. "Jenn and I are leaving in the morning, to go back home. I'd offer you a place to sleep for the night so you could go back with us, but I don't think that my ex husband would like you staying in his house. I doubt he even wants me in his house." Letty reached into her pocket, holding out a set of keys, which belonged to him. He took them and squeezed them before putting them in his pocket. "I'll take you to your car."

"Wow, so if I follow you home, I might be able to meet your family?" Letty turned and glared at the sarcastic tone he gave. "Well, the only person in your family I ever met was Jennifer and that wasn't even until, what, a year?"

"What can I say? I like my privacy."

"Yeah, no shit." He muttered under his breath. Letty raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes. "So are you going to take me to my car or not?" She nodded and turned to walk in the other direction. "So what happened to you?"

"I said I'd take you to your car, I didn't say I'd talk to you." He grabbed her wrist roughly as it swung backward, pinning her face first into a building at the edge of the park, causing a light chuckle from her. "I was beginning to wonder where you went." He shoved her hard, making her scrape her cheek on the rough texture and stumble backward a little. "It's funny though," she pressed her fingertips to her scraped cheek and looked at her fingers, "the same thing that turned me on about you is the same thing that turned me off."

"What's that?" He questioned, confused.

"Your jealousy and aggression." She turned and continued in the direction she was headed before shoved. He followed behind her, keeping a few feet between them.

"So that's why you left me?" He questioned quietly.

"That's why I left you," she confirmed quietly, not turning around or stopping. "I'm no good at playing the battered housewife, which is what you wanted me to be."

The rest of the walk to Dom's was quiet, neither of them wanting to say anything to the other. Letty slowed as the house came into view, really not wanting to be seen with him. Not seeing Dom's car in the driveway, she exhaled softly, thankful and resumed normal pace.

"Hey!" He shouted, starting toward his car. "Get off my car!" Letty groaned and rolled her eyes, following after him, not really knowing who it was. "What the hell are you doing?" Letty stopped when she realized he was talking to Jenn, who was leaning against the passenger side door with a crowbar in her hand.

"Jenn!" Letty shouted, but she was too late – the crowbar was being used to smash the window. Letty's jaw dropped a little and she looked between the guy and Jenn. "Jenn." Letty whispered as Jenn walked around and smashed the break lights. Jenn swung the crowbar and looked at the guy.

"You bitch!" He shouted starting toward her. "I hope you plan on paying for that."

"That's for leaving my mom!" Jenn shouted, swinging the crowbar, nearly hitting him. Lucky for him, he ducked just as it flew. "For leaving her when she was pregnant!"

If Dom wasn't there to grab Jenn's arm as she swung again, it would've struck him right in the face as he froze in surprise at what Jenn had shouted. He swallowed and looked at Letty, who was staring Jenn down, shaking her head.

"Is that true?" He whispered. Letty glanced at him and then at Dom, who didn't just look confused, but angry as well. "You were pregnant?" Jenn looked between Letty and the guy.

"I think you should go." Dom spoke, finally. "I think it would be best right now if you just left."

"I have a kid?" He whispered, approaching Letty, pulling her hands in his. "I have a kid. What was his or her name? When?" Jenn looked back and forth between her mom and the guy who was supposed to be her stepfather. "Let." 

"Lorraine, Lori." Jenn whispered. "She would be five."

"Would be?" He questioned. Letty turned quickly and headed for the house, trying to hide the tears from all three of them, but not doing it so good. "Letty!" He shouted after her.

"Let her go." Dom muttered, still holding onto Jenn.

"What did you mean by 'would be'?"

"She died," she couldn't bring herself to raise her voice above a whisper. "When she was one." Jenn gave a little nod and frowned heavily, fighting her tears. "It was my fault, so if you want somebody to blame, blame me." Jenn dropped the crowbar and slumped.

"I should go check on Letty." Dom whispered, letting Jenn go. Jenn watched her dad follow the same path into the house as her mom just did. Sighing, Jenn reached into her pocket and pulled out the roll of money she'd won from Grace and offered it out to him.

"It's all I have," Jenn whispered, "for your car." He reached forward for the roll and she put her hands in her pockets and sighed softly.

"Hey," he whispered. She looked up at him and he offered the money back to her. "For all the birthdays I missed."

"What about your car?" She questioned.

"Don't worry about it." He nodded and motioned for her to take the money back. She nodded a little and reached for it, pocketing it again. "Why are you walking around with that much money in your pocket anyway?"

"I won it," she whispered, "Last night, when I saw your car."

"You knew my car?"

"I've followed you." He arched an eyebrow and she chuckled at herself, biting her lip. "I was curious." She took a deep breath, swallowing hard. "You were there, then all of a sudden, you weren't. How would that make you feel? How would that make you feel when you were twelve?" 

"Jenn, I-"

"No. Now you listen." She snapped bitterly, but keeping calm and collected. "You were the only guy I ever knew growing up. For seven years you and my mom were all I had. Then one day, you were just gone. And that killed me."

"I'm-"

"It's too late to apologize, Jason." He nodded and pulled out his car keys.

"Well, do you know where I can find a place to fix my window and break light before I head home?"

"Yeah, my dad's garage isn't far from here. Straight up here, take a right at the light then another right and a left. It'll be on your right." Jenn knew the way there like the back of her hand. She'd been there every day since she'd been here. "You could get lunch there too, if you're hungry." Nodding, he walked around to the driver's side door.

"Just so you know, it was never my idea to leave." He got in his car and Jenn frowned as she watched his car disappear down the street. Jenn sighed and started for the house slowly, not wanting to go inside. Pushing the door open, she narrowly missed something flying at her head.

"What the hell?" She questioned loudly, looking around the room. Ducking as another object flew toward her, she laughed a little, not knowing where it was coming from. "Hello?" Jenn pushed the door closed behind her and looked around. "Anybody there?"

"Hi Jenn." Kyle said walking into the room grinning. "Have you seen Kayla? We're playing hide and seek and I can't find her anywhere. Or Maria or Paul. Nobodies."

"Nope, sorry Kyle, I haven't seen any of them." Jenn smiled when he nodded and started for the stairs. "Have you seen your uncle Dom though?" 

"Yeah, he went out back with that one girl. I don't know her name though. She's really nice though." Jenn nodded and smiled.

'Thanks, Kyle."

"Uh huh." He muttered, disappearing up the stairs. Jenn walked through the living room to the kitchen and glanced out the window by the door. She leaned against the counter and watched her parents as they argued, waving their hands and screaming at each other. She sighed and pushed away from the counter. She needed to leave.

Spotting a set of keys on the counter, recognizing them as her moms, she picked them up and slipped out of the kitchen and back through the living room. Stepping out of the house, she looked around to make sure nobody was watching as she got into her mom's car quietly and pulled off.

She needed to do something.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

**And there it is. Kind of short, but that's where I want to cut it. The whole Leon thing will come up again. And the fight between Dom and Letty will come up again. (I would never dare leave that out.) I know it hasn't been very long since my last post, but every time I get on the computer, I've been getting into watching Grey's Anatomy. I swear, that show is addicting as hell. Anyhow, seeing as how I didn't end this off on a real cliffhanger, I may take a little longer to come up with the next chapter. (And just as a note, I never go back and edit ANY of my writing. If there's some sort of big error, please tell me.)**


	9. IX

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**Sorry for the long delay in the next chapter. I never mean to take too long, but when I don't get a whole lot of reviews, I don't really feel like people want to read more, so I don't want to waste my time writing more. Get it? Hey, at least I didn't end the last chapter with a cliffy. But here you go, the next chapter. There's a lot of flashback stuff & dialogue in this chapter. Just as a warning. If you get confused, let me know, I'll try and edit it accordingly.**

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Letty watched Leon as him and Dom joked around, knocking back bottles of beer. Almost immediately after it happened, Letty regretted lying to Dom about knowing where Jenn went. Letty moved to the kitchen table and sat down, putting her head down on the table, closing her eyes.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"_Who are you?" Letty asked the man talking to Mia as she came in through the back room._

"_This is Leon, he's looking for a job." Letty nodded and turned back for the room in the back. "He's pretty good, we could use him."_

"_We don't need him, Mia." Mia sighed and rolled her eyes, looking over her shoulder at Letty._

"_Since Dom left, we've been behind. Maybe hiring a new mechanic would be a good idea. Maybe we can catch up and get more money." Letty shrugged her shoulders and disappeared through the door. Mia turned back to Leon who was chuckling. "When can you start?"_

"_When do you need me to start?"_

"_Now would help." Leon nodded and Mia knelt down under the counter and pulled out a clipboard and a pen. "I need you to fill this out though. You know, emergency contacts and stuff." Leon nodded and took the pen from Mia. Leon took a seat on a stool and started filling out the paperwork._

"_I see you decided to hire him." Letty muttered, setting a crate of cans on the counter. The two of them stared at each other and Letty scoffed, turning toward Mia. "Here are the cans to restock the cooler. I'm going home for lunch." _

"_Why not stay and let me buy you lunch," Leon offered. Letty turned to him and raised her eyebrow._

"_Why would I let somebody pay for my lunch when I get it for free here?" Leon grinned at her sarcasm._

"_Well, how about you come over I make you dinner. Tonight?" Letty scoffed and rolled her eyes, heading for the door. "Alright, but you'll be missing out." Leon turned back toward Mia, who was watching him. "What?"_

"_That's my brother's girl." Mia noted. He shrugged and she roll her eyes. "Men. Here, finish filling this out so you can start."_

_-- -- -- --_

"_Knew you couldn't stay away." Leon joked as he approached Letty, who was sitting at the counter tapping her pen on a notebook. He leaned in, looking over her shoulder._

"_Do you mind?" She questioned, pushing her notebook away from them both._

"_I don't mind." He smiled and she shook her head, rolling her eyes. "What are you working on?"_

"_Homework," she muttered, pulling it back in front of her. "Right now, I have two pains in my ass, my Chemistry class and you." He laughed and nodded. "If you can't help me, then leave me alone." He grinned at her attitude and nodded, moving away from her slowly._

"_What'd you say your name was?" He questioned, stopping._

"_I didn't." She muttered, not looking up at him._

"_Well, I didn't, are you going to let me make you dinner tonight?" Letty rolled her eyes and scribbled something on her paper. "Hm?"_

"_I have a boyfriend."_

"_I'm just trying to be your friend." Letty nodded, looking down at her homework._

"_Fine. Now leave me alone so I can finish my homework." He grinned and nodded, leaving her alone._

_-- -- -- --_

_Letty slowed on her path to the fridge as she saw Mia, who turned and smirked at her. Before Letty could get her bottle of water and quickly leave the kitchen, Mia was already hammering her with questions._

"_How was your date last night?" Letty turned from the fridge and gave Mia a stupid look. "Well, how was last night?"_

"_God, Mia, you're so fucking annoying." Letty muttered opening her can of Pepsi and taking a long drink. "I'm going to the garage. I'll be back later." Mia wiped the counter with the dishtowel in her hand and frowned as Letty left through the back door._

_Letty made her way to the garage slowly, wanting time to think about the previous day in general, especially last night. She'd made a mistake; she'd let down her guard and let a guy get to know her. That wasn't something she generally let herself do and she couldn't understand why she let herself with Leon._

_Walking up to the garage, she spotted Leon's feet sticking out from under a car and she sighed softly to herself, walking through the door to the backroom to change. Pulling her shorts off, she pulled on a pair of pants that were already covered in grease and dirt. Glancing around to make sure she was alone, she pulled her shirt over her head, just in time for the door to open. Not knowing who it was, she grabbed around for her grease stained shirt._

"_Damn, girl." Leon chuckled, looking her up and down. Letty rolled her eyes and pulled her shirt over her head. He glanced around and looked back at her. "What? Now I can't see you?" Letty shook her head and shoved him away, leaving the room. Letty spun back around when he grabbed her wrist and turned her. "What's wrong, Letty?"_

"_Leon, I told you, I have a boyfriend." She whispered, not wanting anybody but them to hear, in case there was anybody else there. "And I love him, I always have."_

"_Then what was last night?" He questioned, partially confused._

"_You got your dick wet, aren't you supposed to be happy?" She questioned, almost sarcastically. She entered the garage and walked to the car she was supposed to be working on._

"_So, what are you some high school slut?" The question left his mouth before he gave it any thought and he immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt and angry look on her face. "Let…" He approached her with his hands out, trying to reach for her hands, which she pulled back viciously, bringing one up to slam into his cheek._

"_Fuck you, Leon." She turned and, before Leon could stop her, she left the garage._

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

The sound of the front door slamming caused Letty to jump back to reality, looking around the dark kitchen. She stood and walked around the table, toward the living room, looking for the person who'd just come in the door. Seeing Jenn, she glanced at the neon lighted light on the wall and then back at Jenn, who was stumbling up the stairs. Letty was quickly by her side when she slipped on a step and fell on her face. Pulling her to her feet, Letty could clearly smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Jenn, where the hell have you been?" She questioned, trying to help her up the stairs to the bathroom. Jenn wasn't making this feat any easier, by trying to turn and walk down the stairs. "Come on, you need a shower. You smell a bar."

It took Letty nearly twenty minutes to get Jenn up the stairs and down the hall to the bathroom. Pulling off her daughter's shirt, she sighed, seeing a couple hickeys on her hips, lower stomach and chest. Jenn put her arms around Letty's neck and started nuzzling her neck. Sighing again, Letty shoved her away and turned on the cold water. She was furious that her daughter would be so irresponsible and immature. Pushing Jenn roughly into the shower, she turned and left the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Is that Jenn?" Dom questioned, starting up the stairs. Letty nodded a little and crossed her arms over her chest. "I need to talk to her." Dom made a movement to pass her, but Letty stopped him with her hands. "What? I need to talk to my daughter."

"She's in no condition to talk to anybody, Dom." Letty said, almost under her breath.

"Why?"

"Because Dom, she's drunk off her ass and she's been screwing around with some guy. Is that a good enough answer for you?" Letty glared harshly. Right now, she didn't care what happened, she didn't care what was said. She was ready to fight this time; she was prepared. Dom took a step backward down the steps, giving up quickly, not wanting to fight. She nodded and watched him walk down the stairs and sit on the couch. He'd just wait.

Letty's heart jumped when she spotted Leon making his way to the door. He gave a nod to Dom to let him know he was headed home and Letty watched him to the door. Leon looked up the stairs and stared at her for a minute. They shouldn't have made eye contact because Letty could feel her heart slam against her chest as they did. This scared the shit out of her. There was too much that was never said between the two of them and it needed said. For now, it could wait.

"Goodbye Letty." Leon whispered, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

"_Good_bye?" She questioned, not sure what he meant.

"You're leaving in the morning, aren't you? I wasn't really expecting you to come back." Letty nodded a little and frowned a little.

"Goodbye, Leon." Right then and there, she knew she'd be back.

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

"Just remember to not go home and sleep." Letty nodded and stood slowly. She hurt, not really physically as much as emotionally. Her mom stood from the seat beside her and smiled at her a little, putting a hand around her shoulders, leading her out of the little office. "Hopefully we don't see you back in here any time soon." Letty forced a smile and slowly made her way to the waiting room. "Mom?" He said, not knowing her name and not really caring, "might I suggest birth control." Chris forced a smile just as her daughter had and nodded.

_Catching up with her daughter in the waiting room, they left the building together, heading to Chris's car. Letty got in quietly and Chris followed suit, starting the car and pulling out off the parking lot._

"_You want to talk about it?" Chris questioned, turning a corner. Chris caught that Letty was shaking her head, and she nodded. She wanted to know, and eventually her daughter would come clean, but right now she knew it was best not to push. Chris clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and sighed, turning another corner. "You're going back to school tomorrow." Letty knew better than to argue._

_They both let out a sigh of relief as the driver pulled onto the all too familiar street. As Chris pulled into the driveway, Mia came into sight with a stack of books on her lap. She stood, pushing the books to her chest and smiling, seeing Letty. Letty slowly got out of the car and made her way to Mia, followed by her mom. _

"Hey, Mia." Chris said with a smile.

"_Hey Chris." Mia smiled and looked at Letty. "You missed a lot in school today, but I brought you your stuff." Mia offered the books out to Letty, who didn't move; instead Chris reached forward and took them. "Are you okay?"_

"_Hey, Letty, why don't you go hang out with Mia for a bit?" Letty looked over at her mom and she nodded. "Go play some basketball or something." Letty nodded and turned to follow Mia down the sidewalk and to her house._

"_So what's up with you, Letty, I can't remember the last time you missed school." Mia pushed open the door to the house and looked back at her friend. "Is everything okay with you?" Letty nodded, not really wanting to talk about it though she needed to talk to someone. "So are you hungry?" Letty nodded again and they headed for the kitchen, which was, thankfully, empty._

"_Hey, Mia?" Letty questioned. Mia turned from the fridge, which she'd just opened and smiled at her best friend. "If I tell you something, can you keep it a secret? And I mean you can't tell anybody, Mia."_

"_Let, you're my best friend, of course. You can tell me anything. You know that." Mia dropped her voice and moved toward Letty, taking a seat at the table. "You trust me, right?" Letty nodded and opened her mouth a little then closed it quickly._

"_It's just this whole stupid thing. I messed up and I got in some trouble and I took care of it." Letty hadn't noticed that her voice was mellow and sad, but Mia had. Dropping her voice lower, she continued, "Mia, I got pregnant because I was careless and stupid." Mia swallowed. For the first time, she didn't know what to say, instead she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Letty's neck, squeezing. "Thanks, girl."_

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

Letty glanced around the dark room after opening her eyes and sighed. She didn't want to be here any longer and she desperately wished she had never started her adventure back to Los Angeles, where she'd grown up. Pushing back the covers, she slipped out of the bed she was sharing with her daughter and looked around for a pair of jeans. Spotting a pair tossed over the back a chair in the corner; she reached for them and looked back at Jenn. Sure, Jenn looks peaceful now, but she'll be puking up her stomach in the morning. Letty immediately felt guilty, _she_ should have been the responsible one and went to make sure that Jenn was okay before starting a fight with her dad.

Pulling on the pants, she patted her pockets to find her car keys, which she'd confiscated from Jenn as she tried to leave again after her shower. It took everything Letty had to get Jenn to bed, and she just passed out beside her.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, she looked around the empty living room. She headed for the front door and smiled to herself when nobody was awake to stop her from leaving. Making her way to her car, she jingled her keys absentmindedly. Before another minute passed, she was speeding off down the street.

It was a twenty-minute drive from Dom's house to where she was going, but she made it in about ten. Getting out of the car, she closed the door as quietly as she could and started up the sidewalk. Letty froze when the front door opened and a girl with watery blue eyes stared at her. Walking closer, the girls face turned from a curious one to an almost fearful look.

"What's wrong?" Letty asked, approaching her. The girl went to close the door quickly, but Letty made it to the door first, pushing it back open. "What's going on?"

"Who are you?" The girl asked. She was scared, though Letty wasn't sure why, and looked as if she were about to cry. "I'm going to go get my dad."

"Lydi, it's me. It's Letty." The girl nodded and looked over her shoulder then back at Letty. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Are you coming in?" Letty nodded and the moved around the girl. Looking around the unclean living room, Letty's eyes shot back at the girl. "What happened in here?" There was trash all over the couch and there was a broken lamp in the corner. Letty wasn't sure whether to be worried or to be upset. "Why are you up so late, anyway?" Letty pushed the door closed and locked it, looking at the girl.

"I couldn't sleep. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see my mom. Is she home?" Letty moved some trash on the couch and sat down.

"No. But she'll be home soon. You can wait for her, if you want." Letty nodded a little and stretched in her seat. Looking at Lydi she smiled and then frowned when she saw a fake smile from Lydi. "Will you help me clean before she gets back?" Letty nodded a little and smiled. "Thank you. I'll get a trash bag from the kitchen."

"Not a problem." Letty stood and started picking up random pieces of trash and set them on the table. She turned for the kitchen and almost ran into a man. She smiled politely and nodded in his direction, though polite wasn't something she ever wanted to be to him. "Mike."

"Well, if it isn't Letty. What are you doing here?" He questioned, almost sarcastically.

"I came to see my mom." She straightened her back and gave a slight glare, "that okay with you?" He put his hands up in surrender and nodded, making his way for a room, closing the door behind him. She sighed and walked into the kitchen to see Lydi standing there, crying with a trash bag in her hand. "Lydi?" She looked up at Letty and frowned; she couldn't fake a smile right now even if she wanted. Letty found herself immediately in front of her, bringing the bottom of her shirt to wipe the younger girls tears.

"I try so hard!" She cried and Letty frowned, shaking her head softly. "Why doesn't he like me?"

"Honey, he doesn't like anybody." Letty looked into her blue eyes and gave her a small smile. "And imagine how I feel, he hates me."

"But you hate him." Letty thought about it and nodded.

"True." Frowning, Letty looked at the girl. "Look, he's your father. There is no excuse for him treating you the way he did." Letty noticed the fact that she broke eye contact and was now looking at the floor. "Lydi, doe she still hit you?" Judging by her reaction, Letty figured she was guessing right. Letty stood and turned toward the kitchen door, heading straight for the room Mike had just gone into.

She turned the knob and looked down at Lydi when she felt it was locked. Lydi had followed her and was standing in the hall by the kitchen, watching from a safe distance, curiously. Letty took a step back and took a deep breath, raising her foot and pounding the door with it, pushing it open. Neglecting the pain she felt in her foot, she stared at him harshly as he started toward her.

"Get out." She said through clenched teeth. "Get out of my moms house."

"Right. Like I'd do that." He muttered, moving to close the door in her face. Instead, she grabbed his arm and swung under it, pushing his arm against his back and moving him straight out into the hall, face into the wall. She pushed him harder when she heard him grunt in pain. "Get off of me, bitch."

"Get out of my moms house. Now." She knew if she started yelling, she would lose control. Shoving him to the side, glaring at him, he caught himself on the door by Lydi, who moved out of his way. "Get out, now." He eyed the clenched fists at her side and looked over at Lydi, who looked scared. "If you touch her again, I will beat the living shit out of you. Now go."

The door opened and Letty blinked and he was out of the door, almost knocking over the older woman coming in the door. Giving a shocked and confused look to Lydi, she shut the door behind her.

"What are you still doing up, baby?" She questioned. Letty knew that her mom couldn't see her so she started up the hall, peaking around the corner. "Letty?" She questioned, smiling a little, starting toward you. "What are you doing here? Oh, who cares, I'm so happy to see you." Letty smiled and chuckled when her mom put her arms around her and hugged her.

"It's a long story. It's late. I just wanted to come by and say hey. I'm going back to Ohio in the morning." Letty frowned a little. She hated to disappoint people and even though her mom would never admit it, she was disappointed in Letty. Letty turned to Lydi and smiled. "It's late. You should probably get to sleep."

"But I want to stay up and talk to you, Letty." She whispered, not really wanting Letty's mom to hear.

"I need to talk to my mom, sweetie. We'll talk, okay?"

"But you said you were leaving in the morning." Lydi insisted.

"I'll come back, just to talk to you." Letty wasn't sure at the moment whether she was wanted back by Dom, but if she was wanted back by somebody else, she was sure to come back.

"You promise?" Lydi questioned.

"I promise. Now get some sleep." Lydi smiled and gave Letty a quick hug then moved to Letty's mom.

"Night grandma, Night Letty." Lydi pulled away and headed down the hall she'd just thrown Mike up. Once she was safely behind the door, Letty turned and looked at her mom, smirking a little.

"She calls you grandma?" Letty questioned, almost sarcastically.

"Technically…"

"Mom, I don't care that she calls you grandma, I think it's cute. But if Mike starts calling you mom, then I have a problem. If he were my brother, I would so quickly disown him. Oh wait, I already have disowned him." Letty shook her head and her attitude quickly changed. "Why are you letting him stay here, mom? He's still hitting his daughter."

"He is?" She questioned as if she didn't know.

"You didn't know?" She shook her head and Letty nodded a little, believing her. "He won't be back." Her mom gave a little nod and she looked around the house a little.

"Hey, Letty?" Letty focused her attention back to her mom. "Where are the kids and Jason?"

**x-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-x**

**Looks like Letty & her mom have a lot to catch up on. So, preview for the next chapter, and it shouldn't take as long as it took me this one: Letty & Chris have a chat, which will explain where Letty's been the past few years. Also, Letty & Jenn's journey cross-country back home. Oh, trust me that will be fun. (In order for me to continue I have to stop writing my other story & re-read this one because I'm getting them really confused.)**


End file.
